International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate (IB) is an exciting set of educational programs offered in more than two thousand school schools in over 120 counties around the world.
The programs focus on student centred inquiry based learning and global concerns. These challenge students to move out of their comfort zone - to undertake projects and areas of study that are new to them. They challenge students to think in sophisticated ways about the connections between ideas in different areas of study. They put learning into an international context.
Background
The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) was founded in 1968 as an independent, not-for-profit educational foundation. Its original purpose was to facilitate the movement of students internationally by providing schools with a senior secondary school Diploma recognised by universities around the world. Since then, its mission has expanded, and it now provides an internationally recognised education available to students of all ages throughout the world.
The IB Mission Statement
The International Baccalaureate Organization aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. To this end, the IBO works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment. These programs encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.
IB programs
The IB offers three programs:
- the Diploma Programme (DP), created in 1968 (for students aged 16-19)
- the Middle Years Programme (MYP), created in 1994 (for students aged 11-16)
- and the Primary Years Programme (PYP), created in 1997 (for students aged 3-12).
St Paul's and the IB
St Paul’s has offered the IB Diploma Programme since 1990 and was authorised to offer the Primary Years and Middles Years Programmes in 2003. It is the only school in New South Wales to offer all three IB programs. All students pre K -10 study IB. The relevant programs are integrated with the NSW Board of Studies Curriculum. In the senior years, students must chose between an IB Diploma pathway of study or a NSW Board of Studies HSC path. St Paul’s senior school is typically half IB Diploma, half HSC.
