IB Diploma Programme

THREE MAIN ELEMENTS

All students who are taking the IB Diploma must undertake the Core. Students who opt for IB Courses can choose whether they wish to do the Core, or elements of the Core.
The Diploma Core consists of:

• Extended Essay (EE)
• Creativity, Action, Service (CAS)
• Theory of Knowledge (ToK)
   

EXTENDED ESSAY (EE)

This course aims to provide students with the opportunity to: 

• pursue independent research on a focused topic
• develop research and communication skills
• develop the skills of creative and critical thinking
• engage in a systematic process of research appropriate to the subject
• experience the excitement of intellectual discovery.

CREATIVITY, ACTION, SERVICE (CAS)

This course aims to develop students who are: 

• reflective thinkers – they understand their own strengths and limitations, identify goals and devise strategies for personal growth
• willing to accept new challenges and new roles
• aware of themselves as members of communities with responsibilities towards each other and the environment
• active participants in sustained, collaborative projects
• balanced – they enjoy and find significance in a range of activities involving intellectual, physical, creative, and emotional experiences

THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE (TOK)

This course aims to: 

• develop a fascination with the richness of knowledge as a human endeavour, and an understanding of the empowerment that follows from reflecting upon it
• develop an awareness of how knowledge is constructed, critically examined, evaluated and renewed, by communities and individuals
• encourage students to reflect on their experiences as learners, in everyday life and in the Diploma Programme, and to make connections between academic disciplines and between thoughts, feelings and actions
• encourage an interest in the diversity of ways of thinking and ways of living of individuals and communities, and an awareness of personal and ideological assumptions, including participants’ own
• encourage consideration of the responsibilities originating from the relationship between knowledge, the community and the individual as citizen of the world

GRADING SCALES

All IB Diploma Programmes require students to complete mandatory and varied internal assessment (coursework) alongside formal examinations at the end of their second year. Both the internal assessments and final exams are assessed by the IB who awards the final grades.

A student's examination performance in individual subjects is scored on a scale of 1–7 points with a further 3 points available based on a matrix of performance in the Theory of Knowledge and Extended Essay components. Students who display satisfactory levels of performance across all subject areas and achieve a minimum of 24 points (out of a possible 45) are awarded the IB diploma. All others receive a certificate of results (Diploma Courses) for the subjects examined.

HOW DOES ASSESSMENT WORK?

The maximum total marks available for an IBDP student are 45. Each of the six subjects are given a final mark out of 7 meaning that a total of 42 is available for subject’s areas, whilst a total of 3 marks is given for the EE and TOK assessments combined. Each subject area has between 20-35% coursework that is internally marked and externally moderated. The remainders of the marks, constituting the final examinations, are externally marked.

Generally, a student needs to achieve a minimum of 24 marks to receive their Diploma and must successfully complete all three elements of the core.