Language Colleges
Language Colleges logo

Introduction | Overview | Becoming an LC | CILT support
LC contact details | Languages taught | LC Events
LCnet Discussion Forum | Projects | Case studies
 Contact us

(Add title)

CILT-SLC case study

Also published in MFL1

Dartford Grammar School

International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate experience

Sixth-form students at Dartford Grammar School have had the option of preparing for the prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma since 1996. Numbers have risen steadily up to the present position where 80 of the current Year 12 (numbering in total 185 students) have chosen the international course. There was a particular jump in interest shown in the IB two years ago when the A level format changed. The International Baccalaureate is a two-year course, leading to university entrance and the usual range of employment possibilities at 18+. British universities welcome students with the diploma. But additionally, the diploma has international recognition; we believe that students (and their parents) realise the significance of mobility across the world for the next generation. The IB curriculum is genuinely broad and balanced. Students study in six disciplines:

  • the home language;
  • a second language (modern or classical);
  • a humanity (History, Geography, Business Studies, IT, Classical Civilisation, etc);
  • a science (or Design Technology);
  • Mathematics;
  • either Art, Music or Theatre Arts, etc., or a further language, humanity or science.

In this way, virtually all career paths can be safeguarded, while each student follows a pathway that is broad enough for academic balance and to allow the possibility of change between the sixth form and university. An aspiring medical student will take two Sciences along with Mathematics, for example; a candidate keen to read Law at university will find it easy to choose a balanced course from the options available. Students normally study three subjects at higher level (about A2 equivalent) and three at standard level (somewhere between GCSE and AS level). It will not escape teachers of languages that the IB is a means of ensuring that sixth-form students study a non-native language. At Dartford Grammar School we offer the standard French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Latin. Additionally we offer beginners' Japanese, Chinese and Italian. Underpinning the curriculum are three core areas of activity:

  • The Theory of Knowledge - an introduction to ways of thinking and an approach to questions such as: 'How does my learning in French differ from my learning in Mathematics?'
  • The Extended Essay - students prepare (with staff support) an original piece of work (4,000 words) within the area of one of their chosen subjects. This prepares them well for university work.
  • CAS - students receive accreditation for work in the fields of Creativity, Action and Service. By this means it is hoped that the 'whole person' is developed. It is the holistic approach to learning, study and growing up that we believe the International Baccalaureate nurtures so well. IB students develop in the sixth form to become genuinely responsible for their learning and their development. That is clearly why universities (not least Oxford and Cambridge) are keen on recruiting IB Diploma holders.