Consolidated IB

Nowadays, IB schools are increasingly in demand, and many parents and students have to make the following decisions: which subjects to choose, which branch to opt for, how to enrol, what are the advantages, what are the differences with the Spanish baccalaureate, etc.

The fame that the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) has acquired is due, among other things, to the fact that it allows the educational experience to be unique and enriching, thanks to its academic rigour and the magnificent personal development it provides for its students. Probably, and looking to the future, the advantage that makes it stand out is the ease of access to universities not only in Spain, but also in the United Kingdom, the United States and all over the world due to its international recognition.

The International Baccalaureate provides students with a curriculum that is universally accepted by higher education institutions. IB programmes are demanding on the student, but also on the training and assessment of teachers, who are provided with high-quality professional development activities, innovative educational frameworks and pedagogy recognised by the world’s most prestigious universities.

The 6 reasons to choose IB

• Helps students to make informed judgements
• Encourages global engagement.
• Multilingualism and intercultural understanding.
• Prepares for living and working anywhere in the world.
• Promotes the creation and enrichment of personal and cultural identities
• Enables enrolment at the world’s most prestigious universities

Agora International School Madrid has been authorised to teach the Diploma Programme (DP) of the International Baccalaureate (IB) at Baccalaureate level for more than 5 years. As a school in the IB world, it is a researching, reflective, active and creative centre in a constant process of improvement which aims to educate students who are committed to their future and the world around them.

Iris Oliva Herranz, coordinator of the National and International Baccalaureate, comments that “we are very happy with the reception that our families and students have given to this study programme, which presents a different and innovative methodology. Initially, the school opted for the Diploma Programme knowing that betting on innovation is both a risk and an investment. All the students, in all the promotions, have obtained very good results, with a 100% pass rate. The project, and all of us who are part of it, have been getting richer and richer, gaining the confidence and interest of more and more families every year. We currently have 24 students in the first, 33rd and second year studying the Diploma and we expect a promotion next year of more than 30″.

As the coordinator explains, this five-year learning programme “caters for the different university branches, such as biosanitary, technological, social and performing arts. Furthermore, as we are a bilingual school from Infants, we have opted for a range of subjects in groups 3, 4 and 6 in English so that all our pupils have the opportunity to have a bilingual IB Diploma, where they can take subjects such as History, ESS, Physics or Visual Arts”.  It should be noted that Agora International School Madrid and Víctor Ullate Roche, with the Sing and Dance Project corporation, offer an International Baccalaureate specifically for the performing arts. A unique project in Spain which integrates the prestigious Diploma Programme (DP) of the International Baccalaureate (IB) with artistic subjects of the highest quality and demand.

IB trains tomorrow’s leaders

The IB is a model for the future that develops students’ key competencies for academic, professional and personal success, enabling them to achieve their goals in an international context. It encourages students to think independently and drive their own learning, helps them to be aware of cultural differences through learning a second language and enables them to interact with others in an increasingly globalised and changing world.

In a matter of only 5 years, “CAS initiatives are enriching the school every year, and they are here to stay. We organise and comment on activities such as collecting bottle tops, food, books, clothes, artistic projects in the school, organising sports activities, recycling projects, orientation talks to future IB students, etc.”, in the words of Iris Oliva. CAS is one of the parts that has grown the most,” she says, “because the more hands, the more interesting projects. The IB programme aims to form reflective and critical students, with an active attitude towards learning and a vocation for learning that lasts a lifetime.

A little bit more about the IB of Performing Arts

Agora International School Madrid, as a unique school in Spain, in its endeavour to always be at the forefront of creative curriculum development, from September 2021, will implement Performing Arts in the Primary curriculum, placing a bold focus on developing children’s inner confidence, the power of words, imagination and the desire to have fun while they learn. In this way the school complements the IB Performing Arts with a holistic education from a young age.

The real motive is based on the belief that children should be guided towards creative applications of language learning and a re-encounter with literature. Part of this is the significant focus on teamwork, especially when preparing theatrical performances of literature, songs and physical expression, thus helping the children to acquire better pronunciation and fluency in writing, reading and speaking.

The coordinator herself explains that the effort has been greater to be able to offer this educational excellence, and for this reason “teachers are in a constant process of training through IB workshops and teacher meetings through CICAE. However, belonging to the Globeducate group helps us a lot to be in contact with our counterparts in other schools.