The South African Olympic Team to Prepare in South London

We are able to announce the fantastic news that the South African 2012 Olympic Team will be using South London as their base for their 2012 preparations.  Congratulations to our clients South London Partnership and the Go South Go team who worked hard to secure such a strong international team. 

You can read more about this exciting development at http://www.gosouthgo.co.uk/article.php?id=446§ion=8 or http://www.sascoc.co.za/2009/11/team-sa-announce-2012-training-base/#more-3547.

IB Diploma - New Kid On The Block by Kinga Kosterska

It seems that every August, the newspapers print the same story: – are our children getting cleverer or are the A’ level exams just getting easier?  More young people than in previous years are passing with higher grades.  As always, the jury is still out. This year, however I noticed a difference, something called the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma was being mentioned.

In fact once I noticed in once, it popped up all over the place! I read that many schools were voting with their feet and switching from A’ levels to it, the latest famous school to switch being Westminster School.  Even the monthly Ealing Council magazine had a feature and interviews with two head-teachers whose schools were also switching to the IB.  More personally, my cousin a Polish diplomat in Brussels had his son study for the IB.

I realised I knew nothing about the IB diploma and as it was becoming more popular it seamed that I needed to remedy this!  On further thought it dawned on me that now not only universities, but also employers will need to understand it. What it’s made up of and does it prepare young people for the world of work.

I googled International Baccalaureate and found the site www.ibo.org.  Here’s a brief outline:

The diploma was founded in 1968 by an international group of academics and, since then, the system has been adopted by around 3,000 schools in 138 counties.  It is broader than the traditional three-subject A’ level model, consisting of nine subjects, six chosen by the student and three ‘core’ subjects.

The six subjects are chosen one from each of the following subject groups: Language A1, Individuals and societies, Mathematics and computer science, the arts, experimental sciences, second language.  Three are studied at a higher level, (240 teaching hours) and three at a lower level (150 teaching hours).

The three core subjects are compulsory and are central to the philosophy of the Diploma.  They are:

Extended essay: The extended essay has a prescribed limit of 4,000 words. It offers the opportunity to investigate a topic of individual interest, and acquaints students with the independent research and writing skills expected at university.

Theory of knowledge (TOK): The interdisciplinary TOK course is designed to provide coherence by exploring the nature of knowledge across disciplines, encouraging an appreciation of other cultural perspectives.

Creativity, action, service (CAS): Participation in the school’s CAS programme encourages students to be involved in artistic pursuits, sports and community service work, thus fostering students’ awareness and appreciation of life outside the academic arena.

Assessment is carried out both internally and externally, examinations forming the greatest share of the assessment.

Schools that have switched have stated that they prefer the IB, as it is broader and so students are well educated in a good range of disciplines.  It also allows students to keep their options open for later study.  It is taught over two years and so teachers can pace the course in line with student’s levels of maturity, unlike A’ levels which are modular in nature with the first exams taking place after just two terms.  Teachers believe that students finish with a better understanding of the subject.

Interestingly IB Diploma Programme is sold on the basis that students learn more than a collection of facts, but that it prepares and encourages them to:

• ask challenging questions
• learn how to learn
• develop a strong sense of their own identity and culture
• develop the ability to communicate with and understand people from other countries and cultures.

It will be interesting to see whether there is a marked difference between students who have completed A’ levels and those who have studied an IB curriculum – time will tell!

More can be found about the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma system on www.ibo.org

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