International Baccalaureate

What is IB?

The International Baccalaureate (more officially known as the International Baccalaureate Organization or IBO) is an international organization which offers an educational program to selected schools around the world. The IB offers four programmes for students aged 3 to 19 which aims to develop the not just the intellectual skills but also personal, emotional and social skills to cope with the ever-changing world.

The IBO places strong emphasis on the ideals of international understanding and responsible citizenship which is captured in their mission statement.

IB Mission Statement

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

Founded in the 1960s, the IBO grew out of the international school efforts to establish a common curriculum and university entry credential for international students. There are now over 1,137,000 IB students at 3,676 schools in 146 countries. The IB works with various offices or representatives around the world such as Bath, Buenos Aires, Cardiff, Delhi, Geneva, New York, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo and Vancouver with their headquarters located in Geneva, Switzerland.

What is an IB education?

A short document that summarizes what it means to be an IB school can be downloaded from the IB website at:
» whatisanibeducation‐EN.pdf