International Baccalaureate a 21st Century Education

What you need to know about the IB

What is education for? Many will recall their school days working towards GCSEs (or O Levels) before going on to select a narrow range of 3 subjects for their A Levels. The system was established in the 1950s and has endured through the decades for those seeking university entrance before embarking upon a career.

Yet in 21st century society, many would challenge this system as a valid route to prepare young people for their future lives. They seek not only knowledge, but also broader skills for study and beyond, helping young people grow as learners, as people, and genuinely as citizens of the world they are entering.

Founded later than A Levels, the International Baccalaureate (IB) has long existed to broaden young people’s horizons. The IB Diploma Programme (DP) is aimed specifically at pupils in the Sixth Form. It offers a broader, holistic approach where rigour is combined with breadth, and pupils are challenged to develop both academically and personally.

What does the IB Diploma entail?

Inspired by other leading education systems globally, the IB upholds the need to provide rigorous subject content, and akin to A Levels, pupils must study three subjects to the DP equivalent, ‘Higher Level’. Yet the programme is designed as a package, and pupils enrich their favourite subjects here by undertaking an additional three ‘Standard Level’ subjects. The idea is to diversify pupils’ experiences and abilities in ways even the best A Level programme might struggle to achieve.

The DP, however, reaches further than the confines of the classroom, challenging learners

to make connections with the world beyond the prescribed syllabus content, though a ‘core’ programme which is common to all – namely, the Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge, and CAS (Creativity, Action, Service).

With university preparation in mind, all students learn to write a university-style ‘Extended Essay’ under the guidance of a school supervisor. The essay enables pupils to indulge in a topic of personal interest arising from their studies and to explore that topic in depth. This culminates in a substantial piece of research undertaken in their school environment, developing confidence in skills required at university even before they enrol.

Additionally, pupils come to understand that knowledge can – and should – be questioned! The ‘Theory of Knowledge’ course leads pupils to recognise that even what they learn in school might, in the end, not be beyond doubt - let alone information they receive from the so-called ‘information society’ of today! Pupils are taught to evaluate sources of knowledge and to be aware of the strengths and limitations of that information. With connections expected to be made between Theory of Knowledge and pupils’ individual subject areas, critical thinking is truly engrained in programme design.

Finally, all pupils are reminded of the need to balance their studies with other interests. In order to pass their Diploma, IB students must demonstrate completion of a meaningful ‘Creativity, Action and Service’ (CAS) programme, underpinned by similar values to the muchrespected Duke of Edinburgh Award, so familiar to many today. Pupils may not be conscious of it, but their involvement in this programme can lead to life lessons which will serve them well into their future careers, whilst ensuring they maintain a balance between life and study through their course.

So what’s so good about it?

Any adult knows that ‘life’ requires more than a certificate of knowledge and understanding. A doctor must not only be a good scientist but also a communicator, who is able to empathise with others; a lawyer may need to understand key scientific or mathematical concepts as well as to listen and express themselves effectively; a designer needs to understand their client and the context they work in; a software developer needs an appreciation of the aesthetic as well as the mathematical. Such skills are often integral to IB courses, where inquiry, communication and application of knowledge and theory in realistic contexts are required, guided by the attributes that make up a recognised IB ‘learner profile’.

The programme is also structured to help pupils overcome barriers through a requirement to follow that wider range of subjects. Pupils may start their courses worried about their ability to write and communicate, to interpret numbers, or to speak another language, but these skills are developed as they progress through their diploma. Pupils doubting certain abilities aged 16 can overcome those worries two years later, opening doors and opportunities that might otherwise have remained firmly shut, and growing in confidence along the way.

The IB Diploma programme challenges young people to develop not only academically, but also as people. Learners acquire life skills which are valid at university, the workplace and beyond. Time-management and independence grows as pupils progress through the programme, whilst a further bonus is the international mindedness inherent within the IB Diploma – learners genuinely can use their courses to find opportunities which they may never have believed possible!

What do universities think about it?

As a long-standing university entrance programme, the IB Diploma is warmly welcomed both in the UK and internationally, with IB entrance requirements for individual courses available on all good university admissions web pages. This is not surprising. When pupils arrive at university from the Diploma Programme, they bring with them experience in research, inquiry, and critical thinking. They will have completed a genuine university style research exercise under the guidance of a supervising teacher, as well as learning to think critically. Studies have shown they are even more likely to enrol in a top university or achieve a first-class honours degree than A Level counterparts!

How do I find a school that offers IB?

There are schools offering IB in all parts of the UK – and of course worldwide. These schools share the vision that education should be more than an exam system, and the belief that learners can, and should, aspire to more than they themselves sometimes believe possible. The first step (unsurprisingly to an IB learner) is to inquire.

MR A BAYNES, IB Coordinator, King Edward’s Witley www.kesw.org