WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN IB BOARDING SCHOOLS IN THE UK?
The International Baccalaureate (IB) program or curriculum is an analytical approach to learning. In this model, children are regarded as active participants in their own educational process. The IB model is administered by an international, non-profit educational foundation, which traces its roots back to Geneva, Switzerland, back in 1968. The foundation believes the International Baccalaureate system or model to be a program that aims to develop inquisitive, knowledgeable, and compassionate individuals who are built up to create a better, more peaceful world by upholding values they learned from IB schools such as intercultural understanding and respect for others.
In its early years, the IB only offered pre-university diplomas for students who are internationally mobile. Today, however, the IB program has expanded to include a three-stage model covering school ages between 3 and 19 years. This includes the PYP or primary years program for children ages 3 to 12 years, the MYP or middle years program for children ages 11 to 16 years, and the IB Diploma program, for teens ages 16 to 19 years.
When looking for an IB boarding school for your child, see to it that they follow strict guidelines from the IB foundation. More than their facilities and the qualifications of their instructors and staff (which are both critical considerations), make sure that the school you are choosing for your child is accredited to offer IB programs, otherwise you might be wasting time and money trying to acquire qualifications that won’t be recognised by the university or the school you are targeting, either in the UK or abroad. Choose an IB boarding school that offers extensive subject offerings that your child can choose from (the IB curriculum divides these into six general categories, namely, language, individuals and societies, mathematics and computer science, the arts, experimental sciences, and second language).
