British School Jakarta (BSJ) starts the academic year welcoming their new Principal, Dr. Ruth Norris. Flying in from Switzerland with her husband and two daughters, Dr. Norris and family are excited for city life, having spent the last five years in the Swiss countryside town of Montreux, an idyllic alpine destination on the shores of Lake Geneva.
From her travel plans in Indonesia to first impressions of BSJ, Dr. Norris sat down with NOW! Jakarta to share more about herself, her educational philosophy and vision as the new head of school.
Dr. Norris, welcome to Jakarta. Could you share with us some of your background – where you’re from and your career path that has brought to BSJ?
Thank you very much, it’s a pleasure to be here.
I’m originally from the northwest of England. That’s where I grew up before moving south for university, where I studied at Cambridge University for my undergraduate degree and then Oxford University for my postgraduate studies.
It was during my time at university that I experienced outstanding education and realised just how transformational education can be in the lives of young people.
I worked in a range of schools, including secondary, boarding and day schools, single-sex schools and co-educational schools. I really enjoyed that range and diversity of school environments. I started as a history teacher and worked my way through faculty leadership in the UK before becoming the Head of St. George’s International School in Montreux.
Now I’m delighted to have taken this next professional and personal step into Jakarta at the British School Jakarta.
You spent five years as Principal of St George’s. What are you most proud of from your time there?
St George’s is an outstanding school, with exceptional students and an incredible team of educators.
We could talk about outcomes — we were delighted to achieve strong results and gain recognition in national and international rankings — but actually, the biggest achievement was what we built around those outcomes.
We developed real breadth and depth of experience. We talked about the pillars of education: sport, expressive and performing arts, as well as academics. The aim was to create a genuine breadth and depth of opportunity that would underpin students’ ability to go on and achieve great success. That’s something I’m very proud of, and it certainly inspired my next step forward.
Montreux and Jakarta could hardly be more different. What was it about BSJ and Indonesia that drew you and your family to start this new chapter?
Every move you make, professionally and personally, helps you to grow. You learn and develop as a person and as a professional. So this felt like another great opportunity to stretch and challenge myself — and to do that as a role model for my own children, who have come with me to Jakarta.
I think international schools are real microcosms of the societies in which you find them. Jakarta and Indonesia are incredibly diverse in terms of culture and heritage, and I think that diversity is really present here at BSJ.
What were your first impressions of the BSJ campus, and from an educational leader’s perspective, what particularly caught your attention?
Its 45 acres of incredible, inspirational space certainly stand out. A huge, green campus, which we know is truly unique here for a school in Jakarta.
What has impressed me most is that every single square inch is completely dedicated to enhancing and expanding students’ education.
You can’t fail to be wowed by the sports facilities and the way they have been conceived to blend with the environment. The new Arena space is covered and enables a lot of outdoor activities while remaining really accessible. The new Middle Years building, which opened its doors in August, further reflects this commitment. An amazing learning space, designed not just to be functionable, but around the symbiosis between pedagogy and physical space.
You’ve spoken about holistic development and the importance of enrichment programmes. What are your thoughts on BSJ’s comprehensive framework for wellbeing now embedded throughout the school experience?
Holistic development should be completely entwined with the school.
I don’t think you have academic success without balance and without the holistic development of a child behind it. It has to be seen as the same system.
As for the wellbeing framework at BSJ, it is world-class. It is one of the major reasons I was interested in coming to BSJ, not only as a professional but as a parent as well, bringing my children here.
It is also child-centered and progressive with the age of the child, this approach is so much more than just an initiative or a curriculum, it’s embedded as a way of life at BSJ and truly forward-thinking in how it frames the culture and environment in which students can thrive.
This wellbeing focus is quite novel. What does this say about the education landscape today?
I think we’re way past the days of knowledge transmission — of the teacher talking at the front of the classroom. Now we’re teaching students to think, to be independent thinkers, creative thinkers and people who can find solutions.
We now understand the importance of an inquiry-based educational approach. Knowledge is still a huge part of that. But what do you do with that knowledge? How do you assimilate it? How do you apply it? How do you adapt?
And where does technology come into this? More countries are banning social media and AI is becoming challenging.
Technology is a reality of the world in which we live, and it’s important for schools to teach students how to embrace it, not to ignore it.
One of our major responsibilities as a school is to ensure that all students learn the appropriate and correct use of technology, but also how to use it in a really safe way.
Students up to the age of 16 are still incredibly vulnerable. They’re forming behaviours and developing their expectations around technology. These sorts of social media regulations enable schools and empower schools to do that in the right way.
What do you see as the main role and responsibility of the Principal, and what are you hoping to bring to BSJ through your position?
BSJ already has a really clear vision of where it is moving.
At the heart of that is wellbeing and its cutting-edge approach to teaching and learning. My role as Principal is to ensure that the school continues moving in the right direction and stays at the forefront of the best possible thinking in wellbeing, education, teaching and learning.
Ultimately, it’s about making sure that BSJ is doing its very best to prepare students for the future — whatever that future may look like.
You’ve arrived only recently to Jakarta, what are you and your family excited about moving to Indonesia?
We are very excited about city life. And my goodness, have we chosen a city!
I’m a self-confessed history enthusiast, having originally been a history teacher, so for me it’s about engaging with the history and culture and really understanding the city.
I’ve got teenage daughters, which means we’ve spent a fair amount of time so far in shopping malls! Coming from Switzerland, where it’s all about the lake and the mountains, to experience a more city-based life is a massive change.
Finally, travelling, have you created an Indonesian bucket list? What would be on it?
That is a tricky question to answer, as there is so much to see and experience! We are planning to cover as much as possible from West to East – and that could take about 10 years! But we are very excited for the challenge.
Thank you Dr. Norris for sitting down with NOW! Jakarta, we wish you all the success for your first academic year at British School Jakarta
British School Jakarta
Bintaro Jaya, Jl. Jombang Raya
Sektor 9, Pd. Pucung
+62 (21) 8082 8140
bsj.sch.id
