photo of students on the CIS campus

Comprehensive guide to the International Baccalaureate

There are many benefits to the International Baccalaureate programme. But if your only experience is with traditional or public education systems, a potential switch to IB can bring up plenty of questions.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll try to answer all of those queries — and more. We’ll look at how the International Baccalaureate qualification works, the pros of the programme and how to find the right IB school for your family.

What is IB – International Baccalaureate?

The International Baccalaureate is a non-profit organisation whereby schools sign up to a franchise network to access the IB services like branding, publications, and assessments. IB schools, therefore, are franchises of this non-profit organisation and they must be certified in order to deliver the curriculum.

The International Baccalaureate is taught in more than 140 countries in either French, Spanish, or English. There are four different IB educational programmes: 

The history of the IB

The International Baccalaureate was founded by teachers in 1968, using the writings of Marie-Thérèse Maurette, a pioneer of International Education, as a core ethos. It was her piece entitled ‘Educational Techniques for Peace. Do They Exist?’ from 1948 that kick-started the efforts to create what we now know as the International Baccalaureate or IB.

Copenhagen International School (CIS) is an International Baccalaureate World School that offers all three International Baccalaureate Programmes to its students: IB Primary Years, IB Middle Years and the IB Diploma. Our school was one of the founding IB schools and so has a long and successful history in delivering this framework.

The first programme offered was the IB Diploma Programme with the other programmes arriving much later (the MYP in 1994, and the PYP in 1996).

What does the IB program consist of today?

As previously mentioned, there are four branches of the IB Programme. In this section, we’ll go through each one in detail.

The IB Primary Years Programme (PYP)

From age 3 right up to age 12, the PYP aims to develop children to be both culturally aware and caring. There is a strong emphasis on learners being active participants in their education and learning.

Through the PYP, learners are encouraged to take ownership and responsibility of their own learning and be reflective. They develop their knowledge, skills, and conceptual understandings in order to make a difference both in their own lives and beyond.

The IB Middle Years Programme (MYP)

The MYP covers five years of education. It is a challenging programme where students are encouraged to link their studies with the outside world. In order for the MYP to be broad and balanced, there are eight subject groups.

The eight subject groups student in the IB MYP include:

For the final two years of the five-year programme, when the student is around 14 years old, these choices can be narrowed down to six of the eight subject groups.

Compared to other curriculums for this age group, the IB MYP is designed to be taught in context so students can relate their learning to real-world experiences. The idea of global contexts and concepts are explored deeply, so learners develop an idea of common humanity and responsibility.

The IB Diploma Programme (DP)

Next, an IB student will go through the IB Diploma Programme. At this stage, the aim is to develop learners to flourish emotionally, intellectually, ethically and physically.

This is the programme that students follow between the ages of 16 and 19. Many go on to university courses after completing the IB Diploma Programme.

The curriculum is divided into six subject groups as well as the DP core.

The six subject groups include:

Where would you like to explore?

Our Campus The Primary School The Secondary School