What is the IB? 

“The International Baccalaureate ((IB) is an non-profit foundation, motivated by its mission to create a better world through high quality, international education.

Highlights include: 

• One shared mission 
• Over 7400 IB World Schools 
• Over 5400 Schools 
• Over 1,950,000 students 
• In 159 Countries 

IB Mission Statement 

The International Baccalaureate® 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 organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. 

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

  What is an IB Education? 

The IB continuum of international education, for students aged 3 to 19, is unique because of its academic and personal rigour, challenging student to excel in their study and personal growth, the IB aims to inspire a quest of learning throughout life that is marked by enthusiasm and empathy. 

The IB aspires to helps schools develop well-rounded students, who respond to challenges with optimism and an open mind, are confident in their own identities, make ethical decisions, join with others in celebrating our common humanity and are prepared to apply what they learn in real-world, complex and unpredictable situations. 

• Focus on learners:  the IB’s student centred programmes promote healthy relationships, ethical responsibility and personal challenge 
• Develops effective approaches to teaching and learning:  IB programmes help students to develop the attitudes and skills they need for both academic and personal success 
• Works with global contexts: IB programmes increase understanding of languages and cultures, and explore globally significant ideas and issues 
• Explores significant content: IB Programmes offer a curriculum that is broad and balanced, conceptual and connected 

Informed by values described in the learner profile, IB learners strive to become inquiries, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open minded, aring, risk takers, balanced and reflective. These attributes represent a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities that go beyond intellectual development and academic success. 

See attachments regarding "What is an IB Education?" at the bottom of this page in multiple languages.

What are the advantages of an IB education?   

• IB World Schools (the only schools authorized to offer IB programmes) are subject to a strict accreditation process monitored by the IB, ensuring that schools provide a high quality education 
• IB teaching methods and curriculum are researched based and raw from the best education practices from systems around the world 
• IB teacher are required to participate in many professional development opportunities to continually promote their awareness of current educational practices and new thinking 
• IB programmes are recognized internationally and ease the educational transition of mobile students so that their education is not adversely affected if their families relocate. “ 

http://www.ibo.org/university-admission/recognition-of-the-ib-diploma-by...(link is external)

What is the MYP?

The Middle Years Programme is a curriculum framework designed for learners aged 11-16 by the IB.  The MYP is delivered from grades 8 to 10 at Hugh Boyd. All students entering Hugh Boyd in grades 8 to 10 learn through the MYP. 

In the MYP classroom, students are at the centre of learning. They are drawing connections between all subject areas, learning is explicitly linked to the world around them, participation in a foreign language is required, and a variety of formal and informal assessments are used to inform teaching and learning. MYP learning experiences infuse global points of view wherever possible tin order to promote understanding of other cultures, an  awareness of the human condition and understanding that there is a commonality of human experience. 

The MYP curriculum framework comprises eight subject groups, providing a broad and balanced education for early adolescents. Students take core courses of language and literature, individuals and societies, mathematics, sciences, physical and health education, language acquisition, arts and design.  A unique feature of the programme is that it extends the traditional curriculum to include immersion in four themes-approaches to teaching and approaches to learning, global contests and concepts. Students also complete a personal project, which is an independent piece of work that may be an essay, and artistic production, or another form of expression. 

The IB Middle Years Programme: 

• Addresses holistically student’s intellectual, social, emotional, and physical well-being 
• Provides students opportunities to develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills they need in order to manage complexity and take responsible action for the future 
• Ensures breadth and depth of understanding though study in eight subject groups 
• Requires the study of at least two languages (language of instruction and additional language of choice) to support student in understanding their own culture and those of others. 
• Empowers students to participate in service within the community 
• Helps to prepare students for further education, the workplace and lifetime of learning.” 

*The IB Middle Years Programme, 2015 

Why the Middle Years Programme? 

Parents who want the best possible education for their children choose the MYP because it includes: 

• Rigorous learning objectives 
• A student-centred approach to learning 
• International perspectives 
• Concern for the whole child 
• Sustained teaching and learning in more than one language 
• A focus on learning how to learn 
• The development of flexible thinking that prepares students to evaluate information critically and apply knowledge in complex, unfamiliar situations. 

The MYP teaches tools for lifelong learning and fosters responsible  attitudes that help students discover how to use what they learn to take principled action.   

More Information on IB MYP 

For further information, please visit the following:  

http://www.ibo.org/benefits/ (link is external)(link is external) 

http://www.ibo.org/programmes/middle-years-programme/ (link is external)(link is external) 

All information from www.ibo.org (link is external)(link is external)