INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB)
Pupils learning to learn
The benefits of the IB
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop students who are inquiring, informed, educated, caring and motivated to succeed throughout their lives. Its programmes have great advantages over other curricula, offering its students the opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills, stimulate their curiosity and foster their ability to solve complex problems.
The essence of the IB is founded on the idea of building an internationally minded community based on mutual understanding, intercultural respect, and a desire to learn and achieve excellence.
International Baccalaureate programmes are distinguished by:
- Encouraging students to think critically and to question what they are told.
- Stimulating students to examine both the local and international environment.
- Developing internationally minded individuals.
- Maintaining its independence from governments and national education systems, enabling it to adopt best practice from a wide variety of educational frameworks and curricula from different countries.
Primary Years Programme (PYP)
The IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), for pupils aged 3 to 12, enables them to develop in order to express their opinions, make choices and take responsibility for their own learning.
The PYP offers a transdisciplinary, inquiry-based curriculum framework that develops conceptual understanding. It is a learner-centred educational approach for children aged 3-12 years. The PYP draws on the best educational research, experience and thought leadership in education.
The PYP has evolved to become a world leader in future-focused education. It exemplifies best practice in education globally, responding to the challenges and opportunities presented to the youngest learners in this changing world.
© Organización del Bachillerato Internacional.
Middle Years Programme (MYP)
The Middle Years Programme (MYP), designed for students aged 11 to 16, provides a framework of learning that encourages students to become creative, critical and reflective thinkers. The MYP aims to help students develop their personal understanding, their emerging sense of self and responsibility in their community.
The MYP offers an interdisciplinary and conceptual-based curriculum framework, consisting of eight subject groups, which counts on rigorous assessment criteria applied consistently worldwide. It builds upon the knowledge, skills and attitudes developed in the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) and prepares students to meet the academic challenges of the IB Diploma Programme (DP). All in all, it helps to prepare students for further education, the workplace and a lifetime of learning.
As part of the IB continuum, the MYP is designed to help students develop the characteristics of the IB learner profile. It offers students opportunities to develop their potential, explore their own learning preferences, take appropriate risks, reflect on, and develop, a strong sense of personal identity. At a time when students are establishing their identity and building their self-esteem, the MYP can motivate students and help them to achieve success in school and in life beyond the classroom.
IB learner profile
As members of the IB learning community, students at International Aravaca strive to be: