Jakarta · History
Built from scratch in Pondok Indah, ISJ grows year by year
The Independent School of Jakarta opened in September 2021 as a small British prep in South Jakarta, backed by a UK charity with more than fifty years of international school-founding experience.
The Independent School of Jakarta opened its doors in September 2021 on a purpose-built campus in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta. It was established by The Schools Trust, a UK-registered charity (number 1176052) that has been founding British international schools since 2004; ISJ was the sixteenth school in that network, which spans eleven countries from Beijing to Brasilia.
Origins
The model was set out plainly from the start: a UK-style independent school built from the ground up, beginning small and growing year by year to mirror the 2 to 18 structure of leading British independents. The school opened admitting children from Nursery through Year 4, with the intention of adding a year group annually until it reached Sixth Form.
Emma Webb was appointed as Founding Head. She had previously served as Headmistress of Queen's College Preparatory School, an historic independent school in central London, and brought that experience directly to Jakarta. Every teacher hired at opening held full UK Qualified Teacher Status. Class sizes were capped at fifteen in Early Years and twenty from Year 1, with a staff-to-pupil ratio of 1:9.
The Schools Trust
ISJ is governed by an established international school group whose founders have built sister schools including the British School of Kuala Lumpur, the British School of Guangzhou, the International School of Moscow, and others across Asia, Europe, and South America since 2004. Those schools now serve over 1,000 pupils each and send leavers to elite universities in the UK, US, and beyond. Every school operated by the Trust's trustees has been rated "Excellent" in all categories of its UK government-accredited ISI inspection, and 94% of the network's pupils outperform the UK national average. Trust schools have ranked first and second across a network of more than 200 British schools internationally for A-Level and GCSE results.
Curriculum and Identity
The school follows the English National Curriculum as a framework, providing clear progression while allowing teacher flexibility, with emphasis on breadth across English, Mathematics, Sciences, Languages, Humanities, the Arts, Computing, and Physical Education. The structure runs from EYFS through Pre-Prep, Prep, Senior School (GCSEs), and Sixth Form (A Levels). Bahasa Indonesia is taught at every stage, with Indonesian language, history, and culture woven into the curriculum.
In independent GL Education assessments, ISJ pupils score in the top 10% of international schools worldwide, at 122 in English and 118.7 in Mathematics against international norms of 104.6 and 101. The school is progressing toward full British Schools Overseas (BSO) accreditation.
The Trust's UK estate at Woolverstone Hall, an 87-acre property in Suffolk, hosts ISJ pupils each year for a residential immersion in British boarding school life.
Leadership Change
In 2024, Eileen Fisher took over as Academic Director. Edinburgh-born, with 31 years in education, Fisher had spent a decade as Head of the Preparatory School at Ipswich High School and served as Chair of the Prep Heads' Committee for the Girls' Day School Trust, a role that put her in front of prep school heads across the United Kingdom. The connection to Ipswich High is personal: Fisher spent ten years as head of its preparatory school, and The Schools Trust owns Woolverstone Hall, the school's 87-acre Suffolk estate, where ISJ pupils travel annually for a residential taste of British boarding life.
Senior Campus and Expansion
Secondary year groups are opening one at a time as the original cohort moves up, so the school is expanding from the inside out rather than recruiting mass year groups from scratch. In July 2026, ISJ announced plans for a purpose-built senior campus in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta, opening in 2028. Located 300 metres from the school's existing junior campus, the development completes a single, continuous educational journey for pupils from age 2 through to A Levels.
The senior campus has been designed for the breadth of a modern British sixth-form education. Facilities will include science laboratories, technology labs, dedicated art and music studios, a theatre, a secondary library, and a football pitch. Every space has been planned to support the demands of GCSE and A Level study. Current Year 7 pupils will be the first cohort to progress through to A Levels on the new campus.
Present Day
ISJ enrolls around 180 pupils across its age range of 2 to 18, with the roll growing each year as new cohorts advance. The school operates a staff-to-pupil ratio of 1:9 and serves families representing more than 30 nationalities from its campus in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta. In May 2026, the school was ranked the number one British curriculum school in Jakarta and 22nd across Asia in the 2026 British Schools Asia index, an independent ranking compiled from tuition fees and reputation signals across more than 200 schools in the region. Eileen Fisher leads the school.