WAO High School Basketball Club Wins First-Ever Championship in Okayama Prefecture Part-Time and Correspondence High School Spring Tournament

WAO High School (located in Okayama City, Okayama Prefecture, Principal: Tsuyoshi Hirata), a correspondence high school operated by the educational corporation WAO Mirai Gakuen where students can study philosophy, science, and economics through liberal arts exploration, announced that its newly formed basketball club, established by the students themselves, made its debut and won the championship at the Okayama Prefecture High School Part-Time and Correspondence Basketball Spring Tournament!

WAO High School is a wide-area correspondence high school where students from across the nation study online. While the main school in Okayama City has a gymnasium suitable for simple sports, the environment requires renting an external gymnasium for playing basketball.

At this WAO High School, it was about a year ago that a single male student, now in his third year, voiced his desire to "start a basketball club!" This student originally had difficulty talking to people and presenting in public, and had attended a free school until junior high school. Through WAO High School's dialogue-focused learning, he became increasingly energetic and grew to the point of engaging in proactive activities within the school.

He began his activities with the goal of "starting a basketball club before graduation." However, although WAO High School has a system where students can start their favorite club activities with their own will if they gather five or more members, gathering members for the basketball club, a team sport, proved difficult. He created posters to appeal during school gatherings when students from across the nation come to the main Okayama campus, and repeatedly made calls during morning assemblies and school-wide meetings held on the virtual campus. He also organized ball game events and gradually gathered friends who "love basketball."

Members Scattered Across the Nation: A New Form of Club Activity

Finally, enough members to participate in a match were gathered, and they entered the "Okayama Prefecture High School Part-Time and Correspondence Basketball Spring Tournament" held on May 30, 2026, at Ujo High School in Okayama City. However, the members' residences were scattered across the nation, including Okayama, Osaka, Aichi, and Niigata Prefectures. Naturally, they could not gather and practice repeatedly. The members practiced independently at their own homes or nearby basketball courts, and the entire match-participating team was able to gather in Okayama and practice together only the day before the tournament. Nevertheless, the members, united by their common love for basketball, praised each other's practice efforts and faced the match. Because they came together through their shared "love" for basketball, even students who previously rarely left their homes were able to participate in the match with vitality.

Although there were few participating schools, WAO High School advanced to the final and won a close game with a score of 28-26, securing a spot in the national tournament to be held in Tokyo from July 29 to August 1.

Even at a correspondence high school where students study online, various activities are possible with ingenuity. As one such example, WAO High School will continue to fully support each student's "passions" and "desires."

WAO High School's Mission

To cultivate people who seek their own happiness with rich culture and a righteous heart, and contribute to society.

WAO High School's Vision

To make it common in the world for individuals to build their own foundation through philosophy and carve out their future.

WAO High School's Value

The philosophy of WAO Corporation, which has pursued the "thrill of learning" for approximately 50 years.

Cultivate the ability to think independently through repeated dialogue and the study of philosophy.

Support system for realizing individual futures, such as higher education, studying abroad, and entrepreneurship.

A virtual campus connecting with unique peers from across the nation.

An effective learning style that expands online and deepens in reality.

Why WAO High School Studies Philosophy

In this era of diversity and change, absolute correct answers are not given. Therefore, the ability to build the future society with rich culture and flexible ideas is necessary. "Philosophy" is a language game that continuously hones "thinking" in pursuit of "universally valid" definitions of human activities. By re-examining the society we live in from a philosophical perspective, the world we see now can appear completely different, and familiar social issues can be re-understood from new viewpoints. With the desire for high school students to have such an "eye-opening" experience, the school offers classes that encourage repeated dialogue and thorough "thinking."

With WAO High School, Learning Deepens Online and in Reality

As a correspondence high school, WAO High School offers learning that leverages the best of both online and real-world environments. On the virtual campus, which connects students from anywhere in the country online, daily homeroom activities, collaborative learning like morning sessions, and school events are held regularly, deepening dialogue between remote students and faculty. The campuses in Okayama, Tokyo, and Osaka offer a "commuting course" where dedicated coaches support each student individually, helping them establish a learning rhythm and practice programming and English conversation. Furthermore, the "Individualized Instruction Course," which provides learning support through "Individualized Instruction Axis (Axes)" available in over 500 locations across all 47 prefectures, offers full support for everything from university entrance exam preparation to re-learning, all individually optimized.

WAO High School Virtual Campus WAO High School Okayama Main Campus

WAO High School Tokyo Iidabashi Campus WAO High School Osaka Umeda Campus Individualized Instruction Axis in over 500 locations across 47 prefectures

[Inquiries regarding this matter and WAO High School]

WAO High School, WAO Mirai Gakuen Educational Corporation

0120-806-705

Official website: https://www.wao.ed.jp

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