As an IB World School, we are regularly judged and evaluated by the IB Organisation (IBO) to ensure we meet their high expectations. Since June 2016, we have been working on a five-year evaluation of our IB Diploma Programme provision and we submitted our report to the IBO last term.

Yesterday we received their judgement and feedback. I am delighted to report that we received 18 commendations in the report. Examples of these include:

“The school has established a yearly analysis of the assessment data and teachers work collaboratively to provide solutions ...”

“The school has dedicated significant resources to broadening the range of resources that are available for teaching and learning.”

“The school offers a remarkable variety of Diploma Programme courses which are based on student interests and needs.”

“The school has developed a leadership structure that effectively supports the implementation of the Diploma Programme.”

“The school has established a system of counselling that provides DP students with relevant and meaningful support.”

“The school’s mission statement and philosophy provide a synthesis between their organisation’s core values and the IB mission statement.”

“The school promotes responsible action within and beyond the school community …”

“The school actively and meaningfully promotes access to the full Diploma Programme.”

This last commendation appears quite bland, but is actually highly significant compared with the practices of many IB Diploma schools. In several schools I know, access is initially provided to the full Diploma on entry to Year 12 (Grade 11) but all too often this is diluted as ill-prepared students drop courses and graduate from school without the full Diploma. Needless to say, this is not an ideal position to be in when applying to a top university or college.

Here at BISB, we have been working in recent years to provide students with the preparation they need to succeed in the full Diploma. For many, that simply means a suitable range of GCSE courses taught to a high level in Years 10 and 11. For others, this means a three-year programme in our Sixth Form, with a pre-IB year that accounts for the different levels of readiness of our students. It is gratifying to have this recognised and commended by the IBO in our report.

With warm regards,

Richard Dyer
Principal

The British International School Budapest
Address: Budapest, Kiscelli köz 17, 1037
Phone: (1) 200 9971