The British School of Jakarta is an independent school in Pondok Aren, South Tangerang in Greater Jakarta, Indonesia. The British School of Jakarta is an international member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. It was established in Jakarta in 1973 under the auspices of the British Embassy. The main campus was relocated to Bintaro in 1994 to accommodate increasing numbers of students, and an early years centre was opened in Pondok Indah in 1999. The school offers classes for students from pre-school to year 13 based on a British curriculum, with the final two years covered by the International Baccalaureate diploma program. The school was enforced to change its name from 'British International School' to 'British School Jakarta' in 2014 to correspond to the Indonesian government's regulations on prohibiting the use of the word 'international' in school names.
History
The British School was first established in Jakarta in 1973 under the auspices of The British Embassy. In 1975 the committee of parents responsible for the School approached a group of British businessmen for the purpose of setting up an enlarged facility in specially-built premises in Permata Hijau. In 1976, The British International School was established as a Yayasan or Foundation, in keeping with the laws of Indonesia. In 1990, when there was much pressure for spaces in the school, market research surveys and feasibility studies led to the decision to find a new site on which to build a new school for an enlarged intake and an extended age range - what became known as the Relocation Project. That Project reached its climax in the school year 1993-94 when the Permata Hijau site was closed and the School took over its new facilities on a 13 hectare site in Bintaro, southwest of Jakarta. The new BIS was officially opened by Prince Edward in March 1994, and the first full stage of the project completed in the summer of 1994. Campus Phase Two, which started in 1997, included the addition of the Cafeteria, the Art and Technology Block in the Secondary School and several smaller projects to improve and develop the campus. In 1999 the school opened a new Early Years Education Centre in Pondok Indah in response to growing demand for places in Pre-School and Reception classes. However, in 2008 it was decided to re-locate to Bintaro in order to complete the ‘Whole-School’ campus. In February 2007 a new Performing Arts centre, the BIS World Theatre, was opened providing facilities and three performance areas. The Theatre was officially opened by the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, on 6 March 2008. In early 2009, the construction of the Secondary Library Building was completed, which houses a cafe, school shop, meeting rooms and additional class room spaces. Extra land was purchased at the Bintaro campus and the School's Strategic Development Plan provides a framework for the future. An extension to the IB Centre to accommodate growing demand was completed in December 2009. In 2012 the Early Years Centre was comprehensively refurbished and reopened. In 2014 the school name changed to British School Jakarta to comply with new Indonesian law. In 2015 construction of the New Sports Hall commenced as part of the development of the East Campus. In 2015, BSJ was awarded the TES British International School of the Year.
Campuses
The school is set in a fourteen hectare campus in Perigi Lama, Bintaro. A pre-school campus in Pondok Indah has been closed and all equipment moved to the Bintaro campus.
Colours
The colours of BSJ are red, white and blue. The logo consists of a blue and red bridge, redesigned in 2015. The pre-school uniform consists of a red shirt, dark blue shorts or skirt and short white/navy socks. The primary school uniform for boys is a blue batik shirt and dark blue shorts, and for girls is a blue batik short-sleeved dress or culottes. As for pre-school, white/navy socks are required. For secondary school, the batik shirt is replaced with a light blue shirt for both boys and girls. Girls wear a navy skirt or shorts, while boys wear navy shorts or trousers to complement the blue shirt. For Year 12/13 students, a white shirt replaces the blue shirt. The school competes in sports and other competitions such as SEASAC, and in FOBISIA, the Federation of British International SchoolsSouth East Asia. House names are based on Indonesian volcanoes:
Facilities include cafeterias, tennis courts, gymnasiums, playing fields, swimming pools, science laboratories, computer laboratories, a design technology facility, libraries, and an indoor rock climbing gym. The British School Jakarta Theatre and the Charles Dickens Library consist of the Wallace Theatre, the Van Hien Room, and the Raffles Theatre in the BSJ World Theatre and the library, meeting rooms, classrooms, computer rooms, the Antipodean café and school shop in the Charles Dickens Library. A majority of the community eat in the cafeteria, catered by Annapurna Indonesia, with the occasional student bringing their own lunch. A new 5 million dollar sports centre has been opened early 2017. The main year group areas for primary students consist of two main buildings for years 3 and 4 and years 5 and 6. There is a Modern Foreign Languages block, primarily used by secondary students, a science building and a technology and art building. BSJ computing facilities include suites of networked PCs and Macs. WiFi connections are available in nearly all parts of the school, connected by Aruba Networks.
