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IB in Australia and NZ
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The International Baccalaureate (IB) is an exam of choice for a growing army of internationally aware students and their parents. Jane Vernon Smith reports on its ascendency in Australasia.
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Although the existence of the IB dates back to 1968, it is only more recently that it has developed a notable presence in Australia and New Zealand. The IB has grown substantially in popularity, and one Australian school that has been involved for longer than most is St Paul’s Grammar School in Sydney. Its involvement began back in 1990, when only the Diploma programme (taken by students aged between 16-18 in their last two years of secondary education) existed. The course initially attracted fewer than 10 students. However, since that time, reports the school’s Antony Mayrhofer, “We have seen the programmes grow, so that we now run all three IB programmes (Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma), and only a small number of students do not study IB to completion of school.”
According to Mayrhofer, “The integrated philosophy of IB programmes, which focus on student-guided enquiry and [a] critical thinking approach, combined with its global focus and community service approach,” give the IB a distinct advantage, compared to the standard local educational pathway. As Julie Earl, Assistant Principal and IB Coordinator at St Peter’s School in Cambridge, New Zealand, notes, the IB “draws together the best of many curricula from around the world…Students must study a language and participate in the creativity, action and service, which develops the rounded person.” St Peter’s is itself a newcomer to the IB, having introduced the Diploma programme only this year. “The first cohort is 41 students from a Year 12 cohort of 180. We feel we have had a strong uptake,” comments Earl.
Because of the high regard in which the IB Diploma is held globally, it is a popular choice among those hoping to gain entry to overseas universities. At Auckland International College, over half the students are internationals, coming predominantly from Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam and India. “These students come to our school having found out…that this school helps them in the process of getting into North American and European universities,” says the school’s Garry Thorpe. Unlike many other New Zealand schools, Auckland International teaches only the IB Diploma.
And at the Diocesan School for Girls, where the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) is offered as an alternative, the IB Diploma “has a very high profile” with Asians, agrees the school’s Christine Buist.
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