Apply for the camp

13–19 Dec 2026, Appi Kogen, IwateAges 9–13Residential Winter Camp

— A week of British boarding school life, in the snow at Appi

Harrow Appi Japan Winter Camp 2026

Can a robot ski?
— Learn, build, ski and live the Harrow Appi boarding life for six nights.

A full-residential winter camp for children aged 9 to 13, run by Harrow International School Appi Japan. Lessons in robot engineering, mathematics, physics and programming, daily ski or snowboard instruction, and life in a boarding house. A real Harrow Appi week, entirely in English.

2026Dec 1319(Sun) → (Sat)

6 nights, 7 days | Meet at Morioka Station 15:00 (13 Dec), return 12:00 (19 Dec)

Fee 440,000 JPY (incl. tax)Apply by 13 Nov

Harrow Appi campus, Appi Kogen, Hachimantai, Iwate

For children aged 9–13 during the camp

Organised by Harrow International School Appi Japan

Official camp page

Apply for the camp (organiser's site)

Can a Robot Ski?

Lessons, skiing and boarding life. A whole Harrow Appi week.

A residential winter camp run by Harrow International School Appi Japan, whose campus sits in Appi Kogen, one of the largest ski resorts in northern Japan. Built around the question "Can a robot ski?", the week connects classroom learning, practice on the slopes and shared life in a boarding house.

LEARNING

Real maths, physics and programming

Analyse the physics of skiing, then design and build custom skis as a team. Program the steering with a Micro:bit and a gyroscope. Not textbook exercises, but knowledge used to solve a real problem.

SKI

On the slopes every day

Every afternoon is spent skiing or snowboarding with experienced instructors. Sessions are grouped by ability, from complete beginners to confident riders.

BOARDING

Life in a boarding house

Children stay in the same boarding houses as Harrow Appi students, looked after by the boarding team, with house activities every evening. What boarding life is like, learned by living it rather than by being told.

Why ELT is introducing this camp: ages 9 to 13 is when families begin to consider Year 7–9 entry to British boarding schools such as Harrow Appi. There are few opportunities to find out, before applying, whether a child can thrive in a full-boarding, English-only environment for a week.

Programme at a Glance

Programme overview

Eligibility

Children aged 9–13 for the duration of the camp

Dates

Sunday 13 – Saturday 19 December 2026 (6 nights)

Accommodation

Boarding houses at Harrow International School Appi Japan

Camp fee

440,000 JPY (incl. tax); 352,000 JPY for current Harrow Appi students

Meals

Breakfast, morning snack, lunch and dinner

Language

English (all lessons and daily life)

Included in the camp fee: Round-trip chartered bus between Morioka Station and the campus, lodging, meals, ski lift fees, ski lessons, activity fees, rental of skis, helmet and poles, handling fee and applicable consumption tax

The Learning Journey

"Can a robot ski?" — five days to find the answer

Analyse, design, build, program, test and present. Teams work through the full engineering process over the course of the week.

Day 1 (Mon)

The physics of the slope

Students investigate the science of skiing: resolving forces, friction and centre of mass, to produce a data-backed ski design proposal.

Day 2 (Tue)

Build the skis

Teams design and build custom ski runners on a fixed chassis, testing how shape and material affect performance.

Day 3 (Wed)

Write the code

Students program a Micro:bit and gyroscope to control steering, moving from pre-set turns to reactive, sensor-driven control.

Day 4 (Thu)

Test, measure, iterate

Teams run timed slalom trials, analyse the data and fix only their single biggest limiting factor.

Day 5 (Fri)

Race day

Teams compete in qualifiers and a final, present to the judges and reflect on the week's lessons.

What students take away

Applied mathematicsReal programmingEngineering thinking

How the Week Works

A day at camp

Lessons in the morning, the slopes in the afternoon and house activities in the evening. The week follows much the same rhythm as a Harrow Appi student's.

Arrival — Sunday 13 December

Time	Activity
15:00	Meet at Morioka Station West Exit Bus Terminal and depart
16:30	Check-in and welcome
17:00	Unpack
18:00	Dinner
19:00	House activities
21:00	Bed

Weekdays — Monday 14 to Friday 18 December

Time	Activity
07:30	Morning bill: wake up and get ready for the day
08:00 – 08:40	Breakfast in The Mess
08:40 – 10:30	Session 1Mon: grouping, ice breakers and introduction / Tue: engineering, building the frame / Wed: mathematics and physics, the first test / Thu: programming stage 3 / Fri: race day
10:30 – 10:45	Morning break
10:45 – 11:40	Session 2Mon: design stage 1 / Tue: programming stage 1 / Wed: programming stage 2 / Thu: test and iterate / Fri: race day
11:40 – 12:40	Lunch
13:00 – 15:40	Snow sports (ski or snowboard)
16:00 – 17:00	The debrief: children get changed and reflect on the day
17:00 – 18:00	Dinner in The Mess
18:00 – 20:30	House activitiesMon: baking competition / Tue: games night / Wed: movie night / Thu: quiz night / Fri: end of camp party
20:30 – 21:30	Evening bill: devices are returned and children phone their parents during this hour
21:30	Lights out

Departure — Saturday 19 December

Time	Activity
07:30	Morning bill
08:00	Breakfast
09:00	Camp awards ceremony
11:00	Bus departs the campus
12:00	Drop-off at Morioka Station West Exit Bus Terminal (parents collect)

The schedule may be subject to change. Please check the official camp page for the latest information.

A Ski Programme Like No Other

Every afternoon, out on the slopes

Half of the camp is spent on the slopes. Harrow Appi runs the Alpine Academy, a ski and snowboard programme in which students train on the snow three times a week for half the year, and camp participants are taught by the same instructors in the same way.

Sessions are grouped by ability. First-timers build confidence step by step through the fundamentals, while more experienced riders sharpen their turns through the gates or get creative in the freestyle park.

Ability-grouped instruction from experienced instructors
Rental of skis, helmet and poles included at no extra cost
Both skiing and snowboarding available

Living at Harrow After Hours

School carries on after lessons end

For a full week, children live in the same boarding houses as Harrow Appi students, looked after by the boarding team. Every evening brings a house activity: games nights, movie screenings and team challenges. Time with new friends becomes the heart of the camp memories.

Keeping in touch: phones and other devices are kept by the house during the day and returned each evening between 20:30 and 21:30. Children phone their parents during this hour.

Evening house activities

Baking competition
Games night
Movie night
Quiz night
End of camp party

The Host

A week led by the Head of Computer Science

Mr Scattergood

Head of Computer Science, Harrow International School Appi Japan

This winter camp is led by Mr Scattergood, Head of Computer Science at Harrow Appi, together with his team. Passionate about physical computing, AI and creative technology, he looks for new ways to bring hands-on innovation into the school's mountain setting.

Harrow International School Appi Japan

Opened in 2022, the first Harrow full-boarding school in Japan

Part of the Harrow family of schools (Harrow School, London, founded 1572), Harrow Appi opened in Appi Kogen, Iwate in 2022. It is a full-boarding school for Years 7 to 13 (ages 11 to 18) offering IGCSE and A Level, and its first cohort graduated in spring 2026.

2022

Year opened

27+

Nationalities among students

70+

University offers for the first cohort

Nationalities and university offers are the figures the school published at its Tokyo event in March 2026.

Column: Harrow Appi Japan in depth Tokyo event, March 2026 (ended)

Who Should Join

Who this camp is for

Families actively considering boarding school are welcome, and so are families who simply want to try a week first.

Families beginning to consider a British boarding school (with Year 7–9 entry in mind)
Families who want to see whether full boarding suits their child before applying
Children who would benefit from a week in an English-only environment
Children who love robots, programming and making things, or who would enjoy STEM learning in English
Children new to skiing or snowboarding who need careful, ability-grouped instruction
Families who want the winter holiday spent on learning and challenge rather than sightseeing

Logistics

Meeting point, return and payment

Meeting point

Sunday 13 December, 15:00, Morioka Station West Exit Bus Terminal. Parents are welcome to ride the bus to the campus; a bus returns to Morioka Station at 19:00 for parents.

View on Google Maps

Return

Saturday 19 December, 12:00, Morioka Station West Exit Bus Terminal. Parents collect their children there.

View on Google Maps

Transport

A round-trip chartered bus runs between Morioka Station and the Harrow Appi campus (included in the fee). Routes and means of transport may change depending on circumstances. Travel between home and Morioka Station is not included.

Payment

By credit card only, through the organiser's OpenApply (Stripe is used as the payment gateway).

The organiser publishes its Child Safeguarding Policy. Child Safeguarding Policy (PDF)

Event Details

Camp details

Name: Harrow Appi Japan Winter Camp 2026: Can a Robot Ski?
Dates: Sunday 13 – Saturday 19 December 2026 (6 nights, 7 days)
Venue and accommodation: Harrow International School Appi Japan (180-8 Appikogen, Hachimantai City, Iwate)
Meeting and return: Morioka Station West Exit Bus Terminal (meet 13 Dec 15:00, return 19 Dec 12:00)
Eligibility: Children aged 9–13 for the duration of the camp
Camp fee: 440,000 JPY (incl. tax); 352,000 JPY for current Harrow Appi students
Included: Round-trip chartered bus, lodging, meals, ski lift fees, ski lessons, activity fees, rental of skis, helmet and poles, handling fee and consumption tax
Language: English
Application deadline: Friday 13 November 2026
Application and payment: The organiser's OpenApply (credit card only)
Organiser: Harrow International School Appi Japan
Official page: Harrow Appi Japan Winter Camp 2026 official page (winter.harrowappi.jp)
Enquiries: The organiser's admissions team
Contact page (organiser's site)

Application

How to apply

13–19 December 2026 | Appi Kogen, Iwate | Fee 440,000 JPY (incl. tax) | Apply by Friday 13 November

Apply by 13 November

Applications are accepted on the organiser's site until Friday 13 November 2026.

How to apply

Applications and payment are handled through OpenApply, run by the organiser, Harrow International School Appi Japan. Use the button below to go to the organiser's application page.

Go to the application page (OpenApply)

An external site (Harrow Appi Japan's OpenApply) opens in a new tab. Your application and payment are managed by the organiser. Payment is by credit card only.

Full programme details and the latest information are also on the organiser's official page. View the official camp page

About ELT

Boarding school admissions preparation with ELT

Founded in London in 1984, ELT supports families considering British boarding schools such as Harrow Appi, from choosing a school and preparing for entrance assessments to learning after admission.

Preparation for Year 7–9 entry (11+ / 13+)

From CAT4 and UKiset to English writing and interviews, we build the preparation a British boarding school entrance requires around your child's current level of English.

See admissions preparation

Choosing a boarding school

We explain the character and entry requirements of British boarding schools in Japan and the UK, including Harrow Appi, Rugby School Japan and Malvern College Tokyo.

See boarding school admissions

Start with a conversation

Before or after the camp, we can discuss whether your child's English is ready and what to prepare before admission, based on your family's situation.

Free counselling