IB Diploma Programme

IB Diploma Programme

Since September 2019, Duhovka ranks among over five thousand schools that offer one or more International Baccalaureate programmes around the world. IB World Schools are considered to be a high-level education authority all over the world that offers not only the development of knowledge, but also complex skills. The International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) is an assessed, academically challenging and balanced educational programme for students aged 16 to 19 that addresses the intellectual, social, emotional and physical well-being of students. It is respected by leading universities across the globe.

The IB currently offers four programmes: Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme, Diploma Programme and Career-related Certificate. At this point in time, Duhovka has offered the IB Diploma Programme (IB DP) to students for their last two years of study. Successful completion of the IB DP increases the chances of admission to a selected university abroad. At the same time, we believe that the IB DP, with its emphasis on autonomy, individualization and the development of broader skills, logically develops the principles of Montessori pedagogy.

IB DP structure

Students are expected to study six subjects, usually selected from six groups. Three subjects are taught at a higher level (about six hours a week for two years) and three subjects at a lower (standard) level (SL - about four hours a week).

Group 1 - Studies in Language and Literature (Czech, English)
Group 2 - Language Acquisition (English, German, Spanish)
Group 3 - Individuals and Societies (Economics, History)
Group 4 - Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Systems and Societies, Physics)
Group 5 - Mathematics (Mathematics: Applications and Interpretations, Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches
Group 6 - The Arts (Visual Art)

Students can voluntarily add a seventh subject. The choice of higher level allows students to focus more deeply on subjects that they enjoy and want to pursue in the future. At the same time, the structure of the programme is broad enough to provide students with no limitation on the possibility to change their decisions about their future studies and to offer a comprehensive high school education.

Part of the program is also an Extended Essay of 4,000 words requiring independent research and work with literature, a Theory of Knowledge course (TOK) and activity in the field of volunteering, called Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS). Students need to spend time on CAS activities for at least one and a half years, spending approximately three hours a week on it. Students evaluate themselves and conduct their daily activities.

The concept of individual subjects is different from the traditional Central European approach. Emphasis is placed on the development of critical thinking. For example, history does not require a general overview of the whole world and national history, but a deeper study in several periods and the answer to key questions that are important to understanding human and social behavior; students must retrieve a considerable amount of specialist literature and be able to work with different sources of information and understand the different perspectives of different states/subjects/social classes. In science, much more emphasis is placed on planning, performing and evaluating experiments, and measuring and interpreting data. Furthermore, in literature, importance is placed on the analysis and interpretation of works, rather than on the history of literature.

The IB DP program develops students' study habits and, through its rigorous nature, encourages students to learn how to manage their time and to use their free time at school for self-study.

IB and universities

For many people the IB Diploma is the perfect gateway to studying at a university abroad. As the structure of the programme encourages students to study a wide range of subjects, it offers a very broad choice of university courses (most courses in the UK require only grades from 3 subjects - an IB graduate has final grades from 6).

Furthermore, IB students are given predicted grades by their subject teachers. Many universities abroad use these predicted grades as a basis of conditional acceptance, meaning a student might not have to take an entrance test to gain entry. On top of this, the CAS programme gives students the opportunity to share their experience when writing personal statements and entrance essays for university, making them all the more attractive to their university of choice.

Finally, when an IB graduate gets to university, their erstwhile participation in TOK sessions and involvement in writing an extended essay has them perfectly ready to deal with the academic demands of life in an undergraduate programme and thus should make them more comfortable with academic life than many of their peers. All in all, an IB Diploma will set students in good stead for their next level of education, and beyond.