News

Our 3-week Pre-IB course for International and UK students has been designed to ensure that students have the tools they need in order to maximise their potential to become, not only fantastic independent learners but, also good people too. We aim to be the point of departure for the journey that future IB students will undertake, so we will be looking at those important skills that will be needed in order to succeed on the IBDP. We also wish to be the starting point in the development of curious, knowledgeable and compassionate students who are driven to be successful and make the world a better place.

Becoming an IB student: The IB learner Profile
On completion of the course, students will have a far better idea of what the profile of an IB learner looks like. We will be focusing on this area to ensure that students are aware that the IB offers them the chance to develop as global citizens in ways that go far beyond academic success. With this in mind, we will look at the attributes that fit the IB learner profile. By the end of the course, students will have a better understanding of how IB students are:

1.     Inquirers – they think about how to solve problems 

2.     Knowledgeable – they are intelligent and well informed

3.     Thinkers - they consider important subjects and generate new ideas

4.     Communicators - they have the ability to talk about their ideas and emotions so that other people understand

5.     Principled – they are honest and have strong morals

6.     Open-minded – they have the ability to think about ideas that are different to their own

7.     Caring – they are kind and offer emotional support to those in need of it

8.     Risk-takers – they are willing to aim high and achieve great things

9.     Balanced - they consider all sides or opinions

10.   Reflective – they think carefully and are thoughtful

A sustained emphasis on these themes will ensure that students who attend our Pre-IB course will better understand the responsibility they have to respect the environment in which they live.

Getting a head-start
The Whitgift Online Pre-IB course, which is for students from the UK and around the world who are planning to undertake the International Baccalaureate, has been designed to give students a head-start in acquiring the important knowledge they will need in order to become independent learners.  By focusing on English, Maths and Science, as well as two core elements of the IB - TOK and CAS - the online Whitgift IB preparation course will provide students with clear advantages for when they begin their first year of the diploma at their own school

TOK and CAS
By studying elements of TOK, students who attend our Pre-IB course will be better able to ask challenging questions, think critically and have an understanding of how knowledge itself is constructed.  Students will also have the chance to start thinking about their CAS project which is another core part of the IBDP. This core element encourages students to develop their personal and interpersonal growth by learning through individual and collaborative experiences. CAS is the aspect of the IBDP that is not strictly academic, but more about experiences outside the classroom. We will help you think about potential CAS topics you could undertake when you take the IBDP at your own school.

Getting the balance right
The CAS element of the IBDP shows us the importance of having a balance between academic life and the world outside the classroom. In a way, our IB online preparation course offers students the chance to begin thinking about being organised, something which is vital to success on the IB Diploma. Students on our course will have 3 hours of lessons each day, meaning that the rest of the day (be that the morning or afternoon, depending on where you are in the world), students are free to do what they want and see that it is more than possible to both be academically rigorous and make the most of leisure time, when you are organised.

As Albert Einstein once said, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving”. We hope that our Pre-IB course enables students to see that it is important to keep moving, both academically and socially too.