港区でお教室の増加！！！激変する田町・三田の教育事情
(Scroll down for the English translation!)
長女の時代、SAPIX白金高輪校は早々に募集停止をするほど ぱんぱんでした。
未就学児の年長の時点で入塾テストを受けて席を確保しておかないと、キャンセル待ちが多すぎて一生通えないと言われるほどの過熱ぶり。
入塾テストが微妙な時期で、私立小に行くか行かないかわからない時にとりあいず入塾テストを受けている人が結構いました。
そこで振り込み詐欺の逆バージョン
間違えて振り込みすぎるお受験あるあるがあって爆笑
幼児教室の小学校受験模試の平均単価： 約30,000円
SAPIXの入塾テスト費用： 3,000円
お受験の金銭感覚（1回3万円が当たり前）に麻痺していたママたち。
しかも受験で忙しい微妙な時期の入塾テスト。
疲労困憊のママたちはサピの入塾テストに申し込む際、間違えて「3万円」を振り込んでしまう事件が多発してました。
桁が一つ多いのですが、お受験モードの脳内では「テスト＝3万円」と自動変換されてしまうんですよね。まさかの千円台！
今思い出しても、お受験期の独特な緊張感と狂気を感じます
その狂気が終了しても教育熱は止まりません。
私立小学校受験が終わった後の「王道ルート」といえば
英語塾の「J PREP」に差し当たって入るという流れ。
しかし、長女の時は、出遅れて「入塾説明会の枠の争奪戦」の時点で敗北して、入塾できないという苦い失敗を味わいました。
失敗を活かして妹の時にリベンジし無事入塾
しかも、以前は港区からだと「渋谷校」が最寄りだったのですが、嬉しいことに「三田校」が開校！
田町駅からも三田駅からもすぐの綺麗な教室で、渋谷まで通わせる負担がなくなったのは本当に大助かりです。
今では、サピックス白金高輪校の生徒数増加や募集停止に伴い、サピックス白金台校が開校し、あの熾烈な席の争奪戦は緩和。
それだけでなく、
四谷大塚 白金高輪校、早稲田アカデミー田町校、希学園三田教室 札の辻スクエアの新設など田町・三田エリアは中学受験の競争が非常に激しい地域ということもあり、生徒数の増加やニーズに対応するためにどんどん塾が増えています。
小学校受験も活発で田町では小学校受験専門の大手塾である「スイング幼児教室」が近年急速に規模を拡大しています。
田町駅の朝は私立小の制服姿のお子様をたくさん見かけます。
また、 ローラスインターナショナルスクールが2023年に港区芝（三田エリアのすぐ近く）へ初等部・中等部キャンパスを移転し、スケールアップするなど、インターナショナルスクール人口も増えていると感じます。様々なインターのスクールバスを朝に見かけます。
ですので、私立の学童はもちろん、公立の学童にもインターや私立小、国立小のお子さんが在籍しています。
休みの時期などが公立とずれているので学童貸切状態の日もあります。
地域の伝統的な暮らしと、タワマン乱立による新しいファミリー層、私立小、公立小、インターナショナルスクール、そして国際色豊かな子どもたちが自然に混ざり合う、ある意味で「もの凄く多様性のあるおもしろい街」に進化しているなと感じます。
Back in my eldest daughter’s days, SAPIX Shirokane-Takanawa was so packed that they had to stop accepting new applicants very early on. The hype was so intense that people used to say, "If you don't take the entrance exam and secure a seat by the time they are in the senior year of kindergarten, the waitlist will be so long you'll never get in."
The timing of the entrance test was tricky. Many parents whose children were in limbo—not yet knowing whether they would end up attending a private elementary school—took the SAPIX test anyway, just to secure a spot "just in case."
And right there, in the middle of that high-stakes, exhausting period, a hilarious phenomenon was happening among the moms.
I call it the "Reverse Phishing Scam"—where parents were accidentally transferring way too much money.
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Average cost of a mock exam at a private elementary school prep school: Around 30,000 yen
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SAPIX entrance test fee: 3,000 yen
Yes, the moms' financial senses had been completely numbed by the exam lifestyle, where 30,000 yen per pop was the norm. On top of that, the SAPIX test fell during an incredibly hectic and overwhelming period. Utterly exhausted, many moms accidentally transferred "30,000 yen" instead of 3,000 yen when signing up for the SAPIX test.
They added an extra zero without realizing it, because their "exam-mode" brains automatically converted any test fee into 30,000 yen! They couldn't even fathom a test costing in the 3,000-yen range. Amazingly, within my own small, immediate circle of friends, two moms pulled off this exact blunder! Looking back, it perfectly captures the unique tension and "madness" of that exam season.
Even after that madness subsides, the passion for education never cools down.
Once the private elementary school entrance exams are over, the "royal road" for many families is to immediately enroll their kids in the prestigious English school, J PREP. However, with my eldest daughter, I completely missed the boat. I lost the brutal battle just trying to secure a slot for the introductory information session and failed to get her in.
I learned my lesson, used that bitter experience to my advantage, and successfully got my second daughter enrolled!
To make things even better, while the closest branch for Minato Ward residents used to be the Shibuya campus, the Mita campus has now opened! Located just a short walk from both Tamachi and Mita stations, it’s a beautiful facility. It has been an absolute lifesaver, completely removing the burden of commuting all the way to Shibuya.
While we've been navigating our own trial and error, the educational environment of the neighborhood has been evolving at a breathtaking pace.
The cutthroat battle for seats at SAPIX Shirokane-Takanawa that my eldest daughter experienced has finally eased up a bit, thanks to the opening of SAPIX Shirokane-dai to handle the growing student population.
Not only that, but a wave of major advancement cram schools has opened up new branches in the Tamachi and Mita areas to meet the skyrocketing demand for junior high school exam prep:
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Yotsuya Otsuka (Shirokane-Takanawa Campus)
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Waseda Academy (Tamachi Campus)
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Nozomi Gakuen (Mita Classroom at Fudanotsuji Square)
Even in the realm of private elementary school prep, Swing Infant School, a major player in the industry, has been rapidly expanding its presence in Tamachi in recent years. To meet the growing student numbers and diverse needs, the number of schools is increasing across the board.
Reflecting these shifts, you now see so many adorable children in private school uniforms at Tamachi Station on weekday mornings.
Furthermore, with Laurus International School of Science relocating its Primary and Secondary school campus to Shiba in Minato Ward (right next to the Mita area) in 2023 and scaling up significantly, I really feel that the international school population is on the rise. You see various international school buses driving around every morning.
Because of this, local after-school care centers—both private and public—are filled with children from international schools, private elementary schools, and national elementary schools alike.
Since private and international schools have different holiday schedules than public schools, there are days when you walk in and think, "Oh, the public schools aren't on break today, so the after-school care is practically a private rental for the international and private school kids!"
It truly feels like the neighborhood is evolving into a fascinatingly diverse community. It’s a place where traditional local life naturally blends with the new families moving into the newly built tower mansions, public and private school students, international school kids, and a wonderfully multicultural group of children.
Precisely because we live in an area overflowing with information and options, it is so important to step back, not get swept up in the surrounding hype, and make the choices that truly fit our own family—while keeping the very real, daily logistics of a close commute in mind!