International Schools

Choosing a school is usually the first and hardest decision an expat family makes about Jakarta, and it quietly determines everything else — which neighbourhood you live in, how long your commute is, and how easily your children slot back into a system at home. Greater Jakarta has a genuinely deep field of international schools, but they are scattered across a metropolitan area of thirty million people, and the right one for your family may sit an hour from the wrong one.

The schools listed here run the major international curricula: the International Baccalaureate across the PYP, MYP and Diploma programmes; the English National Curriculum leading to IGCSE and A-Levels; American-style programmes with Advanced Placement; and the Australian Curriculum with NAPLAN assessments. Several are dual-track, teaching one curriculum through primary and switching to the IB Diploma in the final two years, so check where a school's pathway actually ends rather than where it begins. Accreditations worth looking for are CIS, WASC, and Indonesian SPK licensing, which permits a school to enrol foreign students legally.

Geography matters more here than in most cities. The long-established schools cluster in South Jakarta — Cilandak, Pondok Indah, Pejaten and Kebayoran Baru — within reach of the Kemang and Cipete expat neighbourhoods. A second cluster serves the Bintaro, BSD City and Serpong corridor to the south-west, and separate campuses serve Kelapa Gading in the north and Cibubur in the east. Most run extensive bus networks, but Jakarta traffic is unforgiving, so it is worth driving the route at 7am before you commit to a lease.

Each listing records curriculum, age range, published tuition band, campus location and admissions contact, so you can shortlist before booking tours.