High School
Why the IB for Post-16 students?
International Baccalaureate® programmes promote the education of the whole person, emphasising intellectual, personal, emotional and social growth through all subjects of knowledge. The focus is not just on knowledge-building but on engagement in learning in order to develop life skills that will serve a student throughout their educational experience and beyond, such as independence, critical and creative thinking, and international-mindedness. In this respect, IB programmes offer a truly holistic and world class education.
Fairgreen International School is one of the few IB Continuum Curriculum schools in the world to offer the full spectrum of IB programmes that are available, starting with the Primary Years Programme (PYP), including the Middle Years Programme (MYP), and up through to the post-16 level IB Diploma (IBDP) and Career-related programmes (IBCP). These four levels comprise the entire spectrum of an IB education.
Students will select either the IBDP or IBCP track for post-16 pre-university study, which they will complete during their final two years at Fairgreen, Grades 11 and 12. The programmes each offer an exciting opportunity for students that is academically rigorous and that affords them practical experience working with professionals in our community within The Sustainable City and beyond.
Students heading into Grade 11 for the 2021-22 school year are tremendously excited to be part of the inaugural year of this milestone achievement in launching our IBDP and IBCP programmes. In order to help MYP students decide on the best pathway for them, our IBCP/DP teacher leaders and head of counselling share information and help guide students and their parents toward making a decision best suited for the goals and dreams of each student.
Fairgreen International School is an IB World School, authorized for the Primary Years Programme (PYP) and Middle Years Programme (MYP), IB Careers-related Programme (IBCP) and IB Diploma Programme (IBDP).
For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit http://www.ibo.org
Esol Education has been offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme at its schools for over 30 years, with over 2000 IB graduates. Fairgreen is proud to be a part of this rich tradition of educational excellence. To learn more about our founding organization, please visit www.esoleducation.com.
The IB Diploma and Career-related Programmes
IBDP DIPLOMA PROGRAMME
IBDP
The IB Diploma Programme (DP), created in 1968, is a rigorous pre-university set of coursework, projects, and service-oriented experiences that lead to external examinations. Top universities throughout the world recognize IBDP graduates as exceptional candidates, valued as students who have excellent breadth and depth of knowledge, who flourish physically, intellectually, emotionally and ethically.
The DP curriculum is made up of the DP core, which comprises theory of knowledge (TOK), creativity, activity, service (CAS) and the extended essay and coursework in six subject groups, as follows:
Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature
Group 2: Language Acquisition;
Group 3: Individuals and Societies
Group 4: Sciences
Group 5: Mathematics
Group 6: The Arts
As an alternative to the Arts option in Group 6, students may opt to study an additional Science (G4), Individuals and Societies (G3), or a Language course (G2).
Through the DP core, students reflect on the nature of knowledge, complete independent research and undertake a project that often involves community service. The three core elements of the IB Diploma Program are:
- Theory of Knowledge, in which students reflect on the nature of knowledge and on how we know what we claim to know.
- The Extended Essay, which is an independent, self-directed piece of research, finishing with a 4,000-word paper.
- Creativity, Action, Service, in which students complete a project related to those three concepts
*Only schools authorized by the International Baccalaureate can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme or the IB Career-related Certificate (IBCC). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. Currently, Fairgreen’s PYP and MYP are fully authorized by the IB and we expect to receive authorization for our IBDP and IBCP by June 2021 in anticipation of the start of 2021-22 school year when our first class of IBCP and IBDP students will enter the programmes.
IB Career-related Programme
IBCP
The IB Career-related Programme (CP) is the newest offering from the IB. This pathway for post-16+ pre-university study blends the nuanced educational principles of the more traditional IBDP with the unique opportunity for students to develop and hone specific career-related skills through real-life experiences and professional mentorship.
First established and offered to students in 2006 as the IB CC (Career Certificate) and renamed in 2014 as the Career-related Programme, the IB Career-related Programme stands out for its emphasis on professional learning opportunities. Essentially, the IBCP combines IB Diploma Programme courses with a prominent focus on career-related studies and practical experience.
There are little more than 150+ schools worldwide offering the IBCP, making us one of a small group of schools worldwide to offer both programmes. The IBCP offers an education experience that combines academic subjects with the student’s personal and professional interests and skills. Different IBCP schools offer different career pathways.
At Fairgreen, our focus is on careers that center on sustainability in its various forms, including environmental, economic and social. We have partnered with the Sustainability Management School (SUMAS) of Switzerland in the development and implementation of our IBCP programme. Fairgreen students who choose our IBCP route will be taking some of their coursework online with professors from SUMAS while meeting weekly on campus with their advisor, complemented with field experiences they will be completing with mentors in the specific area of focus within sustainability they choose to specialise in, such as environmental, social, or economic sustainability.
The service-led learning and personal and professional skills development that is the hallmark of the IBCP is why universities across the world recognize this programme as an ideal pathway leading to direct entry into undergraduate study.
The core elements of the IBCP are:
- Personal and Professional Skills – transferable skills for the workplace and beyond
- Service Learning – identifying and meeting an authentic community need
- Reflective Project – an extended, in-depth study of an ethical issue
- Language Development – 'Language development ensures that all students have access to and are exposed to a language programme that will assist and further their understanding of the wider world. The ability to communicate in more than one language is essential to the IB’s concept of an international education'. ibo.org
Fairgreen's IBCP will provide students with a combination of academic subjects, professional skills and personal interests. Students will:
- Have the opportunity to think creatively and critically;
- Work independently and in collaboration with others;
- Develop greater self-confidence and self-awareness;
- Become more internationally minded and globally aware; and most of all,
- Will apply their knowledge to real world scenarios and situations.
Esol Education's former school, Deira International School, was one of the first 6 schools in the world to introduce the programme in 2009. Their IBCP graduates have gone on to successful futures in academic and vocational post-secondary education, apprenticeships, and directly into employment. Some examples are:
- Hospitality degree at Breda University of Applied Science, Netherlands
- Foundation degree in Computer Gaming at SEEVIC College UK
- Undergraduate Hospitality degree at Glion Hotel School and Hospitality Management, Switzerland
- Flight Training at the Fly-By School in Spain