International Baccalaureate® (IB)

The International Baccalaureate® (IB) is a non-profit educational foundation, motivated by its mission, focused on the student. Founded in 1968, the IBO currently has 3,946 schools in 147 countries to develop and offer four challenging programmes to over 1,235,000 students aged 3 to 19 years.

The Diploma Programme: preparing students for success in higher education and life in a global society.

What is the Diploma Programme?

The IB Diploma Programme (DP) is an academically challenging and balanced programme of education with final examinations that prepares students, aged 16 to 19, for success at university and life beyond. It has been designed to address the intellectual, social, emotional and physical well-being of students. The programme, has gained recognition and respect from the world’s leading universities. The Diploma Programme will prepare our boys for effective participation in a rapidly evolving and increasingly global society as they:

• develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and ethically
• acquire breadth and depth of knowledge and understanding, studying courses from 6 subject groups
• develop the skills and a positive attitude toward learning that will prepare them for higher education
• study at least two languages and increase understanding of cultures, including their own
• make connections across traditional academic disciplines and explore the nature of knowledge through the programme’s unique theory of knowledge course
• undertake in-depth research into an area of interest through the lens of one or more academic disciplines in the extended essay
• enhance their personal and interpersonal development through creativity, action and service

The Diploma Programme core

• The extended essay will ask our boys to engage in independent research through an in-depth study of a question relating to one of the DP subjects they are studying. The world studies extended essay option allows boys to focus on a topic of global significance which they examine through the lens of at least two DP subjects.
• Theory of knowledge develops a coherent approach to learning that unifies the academic disciplines. In this course on critical thinking, boys inquire into the nature of knowing and deepen their understanding of knowledge as a human construction.
• Creativity, action, service (CAS) involves our boys in a range of activities alongside their academic studies throughout the Diploma Programme. Creativity encourages boys to engage in the arts and creative thinking. Action seeks to develop a healthy lifestyle through physical activity. Service with the community offers a vehicle for a new learning with academic value. The three strands of CAS enhance our boys’ personal and interpersonal development through experiential learning and enable journeys of self-discovery.

The curriculum

In the IB Diploma Programme boys must choose one subject from each of five groups (1 to 5), ensuring breadth of knowledge and understanding in their best language, additional language(s), the social sciences, the experimental sciences and mathematics. Boys may choose either an arts subject from group 6, or a second subject from groups 1 to 5.

Assessment

Boys take written examinations at the end of the programme, which are marked by external IB examiners. Boys also complete assessment tasks in the school, which are either initially marked by teachers and then moderated by external moderators or sent directly to external examiners.

The marks awarded for each course range from 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest). Boys can also be awarded up to three additional points for their combined results on theory of knowledge and the extended essay. The diploma is awarded to boys who gain at least 24 points, subject to certain minimum levels of performance across the whole programme and to satisfactory participation in the creativity, action, service requirement. The highest total that a Diploma Programme student can be awarded is 45 points.

Assessment is criterion-related, which means student performance is measured against pre-specified assessment criteria based on the aims and objectives of each subject curriculum, rather than the performance of other students taking the same examinations. The range of scores that boys have attained remains statistically stable, and universities value the rigour and consistency of Diploma Programme assessment practice.

FAQ’S

How does the points system work?

Each of the six subjects is graded out of 7. The Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge are combined to give up to 3 core points. The total diploma score is therefore a maximum 45 points

Is the IB accepted by universities?

The IB is accepted by universities in the UK, the US, Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada as well as Australia and across the world. There are some universities who have scholarships for IB candidates!

Does the IB include coursework?

Yes, around 20% for each subject and then 3 core points awarded for Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay coursework.

Do Indian universities accept the IB?

They do but not the predicted grades. This means that boys will have to apply with their point score and will need to check when the deadlines for applications are due.