(THE) SCOTTISH ACADEMY (Osaka)
Kansai’s first Scottish nursery (established since 2001) for kids aged between 1 year and 6 yrs of age and is conveniently located in Osaka. From aged 5 years, the kids are taught as primary school students. Pupils are taught in British English to a British curriculum. As the name of the school suggests, the school promotes Scottish culture and conducts exchanges with Scotland. View timetable & subject schedule here.
Unique about the school is that it adopts a multi-aged family structure in housing and teaching the students. At Scottish Academy the teachers use the Montessori method but they also follow the Froebel method of devoting themselves to sensing the children’s needs.
‘Animals who need to learn more, play more. Those with fixed and inherited instincts play not at all.’
This famous quote is the base of Scottish Academy’s entire philosophy, as the school believes in the need for play. In order to learn they need to play, and so the idea of naming the school Scottish Academy, came from the gardens of Acadamae where Plato, arguably the greatest philosopher of all, taught his students. Scottish Academy’s education method is based on Froebel’s philosophy. Frederic Froebel was a German educator who founded the world’s first institution for very young children. He created the word “Kindergarten”.
Another interesting feature of the school is that it does not put children’s art work on the walls of the nursery. Any art work display is done by artists. This means that the children always have a high level of art in front of them. The walls are mainly decorated by life-size figures that the children clothe themselves by knitting, weaving, or sewing items of clothing. Each year one of these skills is concentrated upon. Boys too become proficient in knitting and weaving. Skill with the fingers aids development of the brain.
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