Preparing our students for the world of tomorrow starts with their education today.
From rapid technological developments to increasing globalisation, the world is advancing at an unprecedented pace. The World Economic Forum estimates that by 2025, children and teens will need a new suite of skills to succeed in the world of work — including the know-how to use and design technology, creativity in all industries, and the ability to learn actively.
How do we support young people to build those attributes, ready for the bright years ahead? Today, the International Baccalaureate (more commonly known as the IB) is rapidly growing in popularity as a future-ready way of learning. Designed to cultivate inquiring, international young minds, the IB Diploma Programme is a rigorous, rewarding qualification for students aged 16 to 19.
Every curriculum has its own aims and benefits. A Levels, for example, provide a deep education into a specific set of subjects. The IB Diploma, on the other hand, emphasises a broader, interdisciplinary approach. Rather than focusing on a specific field, students choose one subject from each academic discipline—from the sciences to the arts—for a rounded education.
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme lives up to its name across the curriculum. Global mindedness and cultural understanding are interwoven through every subject. In biology, students may learn about sickle cell anaemia in parts of Africa or the Chernobyl nuclear accident in Ukraine. In English literature, they’ll go beyond Britain to examine how both original and translated works approach common global issues. Every student also takes a foreign language, opening doors for the future.
Alongside this, learners also study three subjects known as the “DP core”, which challenges students to put their learning into action and does a wonderful job of developing those future-ready skills. Theory of Knowledge, for example, builds all-important critical and analytical thinking, while a successful Creativity, Activity, Service project requires everything from active learning to leadership and influence.
In September 2022, King’s InterHigh became the world’s first school to offer the IB Diploma Programme fully online. In partnership with the International Baccalaureate Organization, we bring all the benefits of the IBDP curriculum to students anywhere in the world, all in a flexible, global environment that enhances all the IB has to offer.
With students from over 100 nations, our learning community is inherently international, putting the IB’s mindset into real action. For Matt, who graduated last year, “the contribution of opinions from all over the world” was the best part of learning online with us. “People were able to bring in perspectives I would have never been exposed to before joining such a diverse school environment,” says Matt, who now studies at the prestigious University of British Columbia in Canada.
As we shift towards a post-pandemic economy where remote and hybrid work is commonplace, learning online is also a way to build essential digital skills. At King’s InterHigh, we even teach using innovative technologies like virtual reality, immersing students in that innovative way of thinking.
We’re firm believers that great online education is just as rigorous, warm, and inspirational as traditional learning — but with more flexibility, more personalisation, and more innovation. Unlike distance learning during the pandemic, this approach truly works. Our Sixth Form students prove that year after year, going on to renowned universities like Cambridge and Oxford.
The future belongs to young people who can think critically and creatively, collaborating across borders and cultures. With online IB learning, we’re guiding our students to make that future theirs.
