Should your child do IB?

The last two years of your child's high school education will inevitably set a precedent for their future career and study options. Because of this, choosing subjects for these last two years may seem like an overwhelmingly daunting task. However, there is no cause to stress if your child is still uncertain about their future career path.

For students who are unsure about their future direction but enjoy a holistic curriculum, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) may provide a great option. Offered in over 60 schools in Australia, the IBDP has grown steadily since its introduction in 1978. While not intended to compete directly with the Australian curriculum, the IB is designed to promote internationalism and facilitate the mobility of students.

The structure of the International Baccalaureate

The IBDP is a two-year educational program aimed at students in their final two years of high school and acts as a substitute course to the Senior Secondary Certificate of Education in Australia. Over the two years, IBDP students complete assessments in six equally weighted subject groups and three core requirement subjects aimed at creating holistic base-level curriculum that prepares students for higher-level studies.

Values of the International Baccalaureate

The IBDP functions on fostering the aspirations of a global community, sharing underlying values that promote IB learners to be:

• inquisitive
• knowledgeable
• thinkers
• communicators
• principled
• open-minded
• caring
• risk-takers
• balanced
• reflective.