IB Diploma
This IB program was established in 1968 in Geneva with the aim of providing qualifications acceptable by universities around the world. Suitable for the growing "mobile" population of young people whose parents were part of the world of diplomacy, international and multinational organizations.
Over the past 50 years, IB has grown to become the most recognized international program, far ahead of other similar organizations.
Nowadays, IB sets the international standard of education with over 4,000 schools at all levels in the world, and opens doors to the best universities for young people, such as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard or MIT.
Structure of the IB program
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program is a two-year program for the 3rd and 4th grade of high school, completed with exams entitling to apply to all universities in Poland and around the world. The basic requirement for applicants to the program is a good command of English, as it is the language of instruction and examination of most subjects.
The program consists of 9 components: 3 HL subjects, 3 SL, TOK, EE, and CAS subjects.
Subjects are selected before the start of the course (after completing the pre-IB) from 6 groups, TOK (Theory if Knowledge), EE (Extended Essey - written from a selected pre-study) and CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) are compulsory for everyone. In the case of CAS, i.e. 'personal development', it is required to pass the diploma to receive the diploma, but the subject itself does not affect the final exam score.
Advantages of the IB
IB guarantees good conversion rates when it comes to application to Polish universities and, more importantly, opens the way to all universities in the world. The program teaches academic writing and the use of English in class and towards teachers (it may happen that some of them will be native speakers, i.e. people who came to Poland from Great Britain, USA or Australia, and English is a natural form of communication for them) . Above all, however, the program promotes independent work, which is much better than preparing for studies at universities.
What else does IB give? In addition to the obvious improvement in English, IB also teaches independent work, openness to other cultures (it often happens that people of other nationalities appear in the classrooms) and perfectly prepares to the hardships of studying at the university.
If you want to know more about the IB program, you can visit the official website of the IB Organization: What is the Diploma Programme? - International Baccalaureate® (ibo.org)
High schools with IB programme around the world
The current list of schools offering the IB program is available here: Find an IB World School - International Baccalaureate® (ibo.org)