About | Waterford International

Our story

A new chapter, not a new school.

Waterford International is an independent Cambridge school in Fourways, northern Johannesburg.

Many families know us by our former name, British International Preparatory School. The community is the same, the classrooms are full, and the Cambridge curriculum is taught well, every day, by teachers who care.

What is new is the chapter. The school has been welcomed into ThriveEd, a network of 11 independent schools across South Africa. With that backing we are investing in the precinct, growing into a full High School, and renewing our identity around one idea: at home in the world.

We were designed with international families in mind, and we warmly welcome the local families who increasingly choose us too. Returning families should feel this is still their school. New families should feel it is exactly what they have been looking for.

A teacher holding a globe, sharing a laugh with a girl in a blazer

At home in the world.

Home is where children grow. The world is where they go.

Children who feel deeply at home, known, safe and stretched, do not cling to the gate. They walk through it. They try more, go further, and build the resilience to meet whatever comes next.

That is how we prepare children for a future none of us can map: not by toughening them up, but by rooting them well enough that the world does not scare them. A teacher who knows every child means a child is seen. A Cambridge curriculum means a child is ready. An international community means a child grows up understanding what the world is actually like. A full-day rhythm means a busy family can settle.

How we work

Care, Curriculum, Community.

Two boys deep in conversation at their desks

Care

Supervised care from 07:15 to 17:00, included in the fees
Mid-year intakes welcomed, with a peer buddy and close teacher attention
Teachers who notice when something is off, and act on it with the family

Two girls in safety glasses preparing a slide beside a microscope

Curriculum

The Cambridge curriculum in full: not adapted, not blended, not diluted
One Cambridge pathway from Reception Year to AS & A Level, after a sensorial Preschool
Qualified teachers with international Cambridge experience
Recognised by universities and schools around the world

A group of children seen from above, sitting together on the steps with their books

Community

International families, from expatriate and diplomatic to returning South African, alongside Johannesburg families
Cultural celebrations and multilingual classrooms, lived daily
School-level engagement with the Fourways neighbourhood we are part of
Part of the Waterford Education Precinct and the ThriveEd network

Our leadership

The people who lead us.

Alet Bissett

Executive Head, Waterford Schools

Alet leads both schools on the Waterford Education Precinct: Waterford International and Waterford College. She brings 30 years in education, 21 of them in school leadership and management.

Her career has focused on building strong school communities, developing teachers and building real partnerships with families. She believes that positive relationships, clear communication and a strong sense of belonging sit at the heart of every good school.

Dr. Garth Thompson

Head of Waterford International

Dr. Thompson brings more than two decades of leadership in education, training and school management. As principal of several independent schools and higher education institutions, he has built stable, high-performing teams and led schools through growth and change.

He has served as Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson of the Association of Cambridge Educators Southern Africa, contributing to curriculum development and collaboration between Cambridge schools.

Education is a global bridge. By engaging with children, families and educators from many international backgrounds, we create schools that prepare children not only for local success but for meaningful impact in the world.
Dr. Garth Thompson, Head of Waterford International

The Waterford Education Precinct

Good bones today, and a clear plan for tomorrow.

Waterford International sits on the Waterford Education Precinct in Fourways, which we share with our sister school, Waterford College. Today the precinct is a working school: IT labs and libraries, a swimming pool, specialist spaces for sport, art and performance, and quiet, generous grounds with room to move and play.

Over the coming months and into 2027, the precinct is being elevated through a masterplan by award-winning architects Hubo Design, designed around children, learning and movement, with nature and light as its guiding principles. Adjacent land has been secured, so there is room to build properly. We are not building a school from scratch. We are upgrading a campus, in stages, with real investment.

Artist’s impression of the Waterford Education Precinct from above, showing the buildings, multi-courts and playing fields

Artist’s impression of the entrance courtyard, with a timber canopy and planted beds

Artist’s impression of the three multi-courts from above, marked for several sports

Concept masterplan. The precinct is upgraded in phases and details may change as we build. There will be finishing touches in the works for a while yet, and we would rather show you the plans and the progress than describe things that are not finished.

A full track and field

A precinct-wide sports facility for athletics, cross-country and field sports.

Three multi-courts

Marked for netball, basketball and tennis, so several codes can run at once.

Room to grow

Adjacent land has been secured, so the precinct can expand properly over time.

Playscapes and landscaping

Purpose-designed outdoor spaces, woven through the precinct.

New classroom spaces

Purpose-built rooms for the High School as it grows from Stage 8 towards Cambridge Advanced.

Shared, by design

Every upgrade serves the children of both Waterford International and Waterford College.

Waterford Schools

Two schools on one precinct, with two pathways.

Waterford International and Waterford College are sister schools, each with its own curriculum, identity and intake. Together they give Fourways families an unusually broad choice on a single precinct, and families with more than one child can choose the right fit for each.

You are here

Waterford International

A sensorial Preschool, then the Cambridge curriculum from Reception Year (Grade R) to AS & A Level, for international families settling in Johannesburg and local families who want a Cambridge education.

Our sister school

Waterford College

A new independent school teaching the CAPS curriculum toward the IEB matric, opening in January 2027, from Preschool to High School.

Visit waterfordcollege.co.za

Part of ThriveEd

A national network, and a warmth all our own.

Waterford International is part of ThriveEd, a growing network of 11 independent schools serving more than 9,000 children and their families across South Africa, united by one purpose: an education to thrive, for all.

Each ThriveEd school is shaped by its own community. What the network adds is the resources, training, operational support and educational expertise of many schools, without diluting what makes an international community like ours feel like home.

About ThriveEd

The double-volume walkway hung with flags, with blue tiled walls

Visit us

Come and see for yourself.

Walkabouts run every week. Walk the precinct, sit in on the rhythm of a real school day and ask us anything. It is the quickest way to know whether Waterford International is right for your family.

Book a walkabout Ask a question

The same warm school, with a bigger future.