Studying the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma at Malvern College enables pupils to have an international education under the direction of highly skilled academic staff, within a traditional British setting, against the backdrop of the beautiful Malvern Hills.
Malvern College is one of the top IB schools in the UK and has offered a choice between the IB and A levels in the Sixth Form at Malvern since 1992. The IB is now followed by approximately 2,300 schools worldwide, and every year this number increases. It is a recognised route into all of the world’s top universities, however, the IB is much more than simply a route to university. The IB ethos is to educate the whole person and provide the necessary skills to succeed in a rapidly changing world. Malvern offers a wide range of subjects for the IB. Most subjects are available at both Higher and Standard level, with more teaching hours dedicated to those studying at a Higher Level. Pupils typically take three subjects at Higher Level and three at Standard Level.
Our IB course is recognised by, and appears on the Vector School List, which enables pupils to get full abitur status – even with Maths SL.
IB Subjects at Malvern College
The IB curriculum consists of the ‘DP core’ and six subject groups. All pupils must choose a subject from each subject group except for Visual Arts, with the sixth subject to be chosen from any of the subject groups.
Structure
Group 1: Language A
Group 2: Language B
Group 3: Individuals & Society
Group 4: Experimental Sciences
Group 5: Mathematics
Group 6: The Arts & Electives
Links are made between subjects and pupils are given opportunities for independent learning in all subjects, with coursework a part of the assessment in most subjects.
As well as studying their chosen subjects, pupils complete the IB’s core requirements:
- The Theory of Knowledge (ToK) course seeks to promote in a pupil a questioning attitude to each of their subjects. In our timetabled ToK lessons we work with pupils so they develop the skills to enable them to test the validity of arguments and the strength of evidence.
- Each pupil does an Extended Essay, a 4,000-word research paper on a topic of the pupil’s choosing. They are allocated a supervisor to help support this piece of work.
- The Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) component ensures pupils are learning experientially, developing skills in entirely new areas and building their strengths whilst at the same time discovering new talents.
