BACCALAUREATE HIGH SCHOOL IN SIENA

16-18/19 years old

In Grades 12 and 13, our students take the IB Diploma Programme.

The IB Diploma Programme is an academically challenging and balanced programme of education, that has gained recognition and respect from the world’s leading universities.

The programme has been designed to address the intellectual, social, emotional and physical well-being of students.

IB DIPLOMA PROGRAMME

DIPLOMA PROGRAMME CURRICULUM

Diploma Programme students must choose one course from each of the following five subject groups:

GROUP 1:

Language A - Language and Literature-English, Italian or Mother-Tongue SSST

GROUP 2:

Language Acquisition-English, Italian, Italian ab initio and Spanish.

GROUP 3:

Individuals & Societies-History or Pamoja course e.g. Economics, Psychology, Business Studies

GROUP 4:

Experimental Sciences-Biology, Chemistry & Physics

GROUP 5:

Mathematics-Analysis & Approaches or Applications and Interpretation

GROUP 6:

Virtual Arts; alternatively students can select a subject from Group 1 - 4.

Diploma Programme courses can be taken at higher level (HL) or standard level (SL).

Students take at least three, and not more than four, subjects at HL (240 teaching hours), while the remaining courses are taken at SL (150 teaching hours).

DIPLOMA PROGRAMME CORE

In addition to the subject groups studied by students, the DP features three core elements that broaden students’ educational experience and challenge them to apply their knowledge and skills.

Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS)
involves students in a range of activities alongside their academic studies throughout the DP. The three strands of CAS are creativity (exploring and extending ideas leading to an original or interpretive product or performance), activity (physical exertion contributing to a healthy lifestyle) and service (collaborative and reciprocal engagement with the community in response to an authentic need)
Theory of Knowledge (TOK)
develops a coherent approach to learning that unifies the academic disciplines. In this course on critical thinking, students inquire into the nature of knowing and deepen their understanding of knowledge as a human construction.
The Extended essay (EE)
requires students to engage in independent research through an in-depth study of a question relating to one of the DP subjects they are studying.

ASSESSMENT

Students are assessed by taking written examinations at the end of the programme, which are marked by external IB examiners. In addition to this, students complete assessment tasks in the school, which are either initially marked by teachers and then moderated by external moderators or sent directly to external examiners. The grades awarded for each course range from 1 (lowest) to 7 (highest). Students can also be awarded up to three additional points for their combined results on TOK and the EE. The highest total that a DP student can be awarded is 45 points.