IBDP at Raffles American School
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is an internationally recognized school programme emphasizing intercultural tolerance, academic achievement, and student enrichment. A two-year commitment spanning grades eleven and twelve, and focuses on teaching students how to think critically, culminating in six rigorous subject exams overseen by an international body. The programme provides a challenging and comprehensive education that enables future adults to create a better world through cross-cultural communication, understanding, and respect. The IBDP is very popular among expat families seeking a well-rounded and international education for their teenagers.
Courses are divided into the following categories:
• Studies in language and literature
• Language acquisition
• Individuals and societies
• Sciences
• Mathematics
• The Arts
Three additional components are also compulsory for all IBDP students. TOK (Theory of Knowledge) provides an opportunity for students to reflect on the nature of knowledge and on “how we know what we claim to know,” while CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) provides a ‘counterbalance’ to the academic rigour of the educational programme. The programme is rounded out with the Extended Essay, which is best described as a “High School Thesis Paper.
Five Reasons Why the IBDP May be the Programme for You:
1. Real World Situations
The IBDP offers a curriculum that is broad, balanced, conceptual, and connected. Stimulating students to develop critical and analytical skills applicable to ‘real-life situations’:
• feel more prepared for college-level coursework
• are better able to cope with modern-day workloads and time-management challenges
2. Holistic Approach
The IBDP emphasizes education beyond the confines of the classroom and focuses on the full development of the individual. Encouraged to become the finest version of themselves through real-life experience, subjects are not taught in isolation but are rather linked to each other, reflecting our interconnected world. Students are taught to think conceptually, making their knowledge easier to apply to the twenty-first century.
3. Well-Rounded Students
The vision of the IBDP is for students to experience a versatile academic journey empathizing critical thinking. By exposing students to a variety of points of view, they gain confidence and are able to respond to challenges in today’s complex and unpredictable world. Through the IBDP, students are given a unique education that helps them develop strong academic, social, and emotional characteristics. As a result, IBDP graduates are well-rounded with a heightened understanding of language, culture, and globally significant issues and ideas.
4. Internationally Oriented Education
The IBDP works within global contexts, stimulating and increasing understanding of languages and cultural awareness. Participation in a global society is key to the IBDP vision, and this is a programme truly international in scope. The IBDP develops global-consciousness and encourages students to play leading roles in society. The worldwide standardization of the IBDP eases transitions from school to school for students who often change countries.
5. Academic Success
The IBDP emphasizes academic rigor through international mindedness, thereby enabling students to develop a unique set of skills, attitudes, and perspectives to succeed at university and life beyond academics. IBDP students learn more efficiently and independently and are often recruited by high-ranking universities from across the globe.
For more information on the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, please contact admissions@rafflesamericanschool.org
Links to AP courses and SAT at Raffles American School:
