Rugby School Group and Clarence Education Asia (CEA) are delighted to announce the appointment of Tony Darby as the Founding Principal of Rugby School Japan.
Planning to open in September 2023, Rugby School Japan will be the first British boarding and day school in Greater Tokyo, and Rugby’s second international sister school (Rugby School Thailand opened in 2017).
Tony Darby is the Sub-Warden of St Edward’s School, Oxford and has been in post since 2017. Having read Politics and Economics at Durham, he took up his first teaching appointment in 1996 at Queen’s College, Taunton, before moving to Rugby School in 2003 to lead the Economics and Business Studies Department, becoming a Housemaster in 2011 and the Senior Housemaster in 2014. Tony’s 14 years at Rugby has ensured that he is steeped in its educational and boarding ethos, which he is greatly looking forward to developing at Rugby School Japan.
Tony is married to Leah and they have two teenage children. He will take up his appointment in Japan in September 2022.
Peter Green, Executive Head Master of Rugby School Group, said: “I am delighted Tony is returning to the Rugby School Group and look forward to working with him and his team as we begin to develop Rugby School Japan.”
Commenting on his appointment, Tony said: “I am honoured and privileged to become the Founding Principal of Rugby School Japan and am looking forward to the challenge of helping to create a truly ground-breaking school in Greater Tokyo, one that will share the same values and ethos of Rugby School and become an integral part of the community.
Rugby School Japan plans to open, with a capacity for 750 girls and boys aged 11 to 18, in September 2023 on its spectacular new campus in Kashiwa-no-ha, in Chiba Prefecture, 30 minutes by train from central Tokyo. It will offer students Rugby’s full academic, co-curricular and boarding programmes, with a focus on the development of the whole person, leading to IGCSE and A-level studies and entry to the world’s top universities. Boarding and day places will be available and Rugby’s House system will be central to the School’s ethos. Students from Rugby School Japan and the other schools in the Rugby School Group will also spend time each year at its enrichment campus on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, famous for its world-class snow, stunning landscapes and equestrian sports.
Day and boarding places for students seeking entry into Years 7 to 10 and Year 12 will be available from September 2023. The admissions office will open in autumn this year.
The Rugby School Group portfolio includes Rugby School, one of the UK’s most famous co-educational boarding schools, founded in 1567, Bilton Grange Preparatory School in the UK and Rugby School Thailand.
CEA is Rugby School’s exclusive partner in Japan and operates several international educational institutions including Phoenix House International School (Tokyo), Clarence International School (Tokyo), and North Peak (Hokkaido).
