IB Diploma Hexagon (Curriculum)
The curriculum contains six subject groups together with a core made up of three separate parts.
This is illustrated by a hexagon with the three parts of the core at its centre.
Students study six subjects selected from the subject groups. Normally three subjects are studied at higher level (courses representing 240 teaching hours), and the remaining three subjects are studied at standard level (courses representing 150 teaching hours).
All three parts of the core—extended essay, theory of knowledge and creativity, action, service—are compulsory and are central to the philosophy of the Diploma Programme. -from the IBO website
Core
The three core requirements are:
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Extended essay: The extended essay has a prescribed limit of 4,000 words. It offers the opportunity to investigate a topic of individual interest, and acquaints students with the independent research and writing skills expected at university.
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Theory of knowledge (TOK): The interdisciplinary TOK course is designed to provide coherence by exploring the nature of knowledge across disciplines, encouraging an appreciation of other cultural perspectives.
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Creativity, action, service (CAS): Participation in the school’s CAS programme encourages students to be involved in artistic pursuits, sports and community service work, thus fostering students’ awareness and appreciation of life outside the academic arena. -from the IBO website
Subjects offered by GPIS
Each year, the school surveys its prospective IB students for their future choices of IB subjects and takes that into account when selecting subjects for the next year. Over the years, the following subjects have been offered by the school:
Arabic A1 HL/SL
English A2 SL -not offered this year
English B HL/SL
Italian ab initio -not offered this year
Business and management HL/SL
Economics HL/SL
Physics HL/SL
Chemistry HL/SL
Biology HL/SL
Mathematics HL
Mathematics SL
The language of instruction of these subjects is also determined through surveying.
Grading system in IBDP
Each subject is graded out of 7 and each student chooses 6 subjects which brings the highest total of points scored on subjects to 42. The grades of the extended essay and the theory of knowledge course are then combined to give a score out of 3 extra points. Thus, the highest possible grade for an IB student is 45.