澳门六合彩

The first cohort of IB students from King鈥檚 College Madrid share their experience studying the Diploma Programme.

In September 2020, true to its vision of being 鈥渁t the forefront of British education at an international level鈥�, King鈥檚 College extended its educational offer to introduce the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) for students from 16 years old.

In combination with the British Curriculum, the world-renowned IBDP would offer students a unique learning pathway aimed to encourage international mindedness as well as intellectual rigour and academic flexibility.

We have spoken to the first cohort of IB students of the school, to learn about their experience.

鈥淭he IB really tries to push students forward to solving issues and complex problems and give them real case scenarios in which what we are learning applies,鈥� explains Gabriel, one of the first IB students at King鈥檚 College Madrid. He decided to study the IB because, although his passion is Biology, he was looking for a programme that would allow him to study a wide range of subjects. 鈥淚 wanted the opportunity to learn more things, to develop more knowledge, and I think the IB was really useful in that sense. In IB DP, they give you all the resources you need in order for you to really understand and get a feeling of what we are actually learning,鈥� he notes.

Marcos, who has been studying at King鈥檚 College Madrid since he was 4 years old, felt that the IB Diploma Programme 鈥渘ourishes the way you look at things and it changes your perspectives.鈥� He is preparing to study Medicine next year and is hoping to access a university in the UK. 鈥淚 feel the IB has really helped me prepare for what university life will be like, because it has taught me how to be more organised and resourceful on my own, without needing that much help from my teachers,鈥� he explains.

Something similar happened to Sofia, who is a boarding student from Bulgaria: 鈥淚 feel the IB really teaches you how to be independent and how to study in your own time as much as it gives you the resources and helps you throughout that journey that you鈥檙e going through.鈥�
She decided to combine Film Studies and Biology for her IB DP, because she wanted to get deeper into both subjects before deciding which one to choose as a professional career. One of the things she especially liked about the IB was the 鈥渟elf-reflections鈥�. 鈥淚 think that it鈥檚 very important for you to take your time to write a reflection in everything you鈥檝e done, because that allows you to understand better what you have learned, how you have learned it and what made you struggle the most,鈥� she adds.

Nadia, another IB student from King鈥檚 College Madrid, decided to study the Diploma Programme because she felt that the IB would offer her a global perspective of 鈥渉ow the world works鈥� and would help her progress her knowledge and learn 鈥渋n a different way鈥�. 鈥淚 would say the IB is as much challenging as it is fun. You need to be really organised and keep up with your studies, but you also get a chance to do a lot of debates in class, do interesting projects and open your mind to other perspectives,鈥� she comments.

For Valeria, who has been a student at King鈥檚 College Madrid her whole life, the IB has given her a unique opportunity to develop her skills as a learner. 鈥淚 think the IB forces you to develop skills that robots, for example, can鈥檛 replace. The jobs of the future, that don鈥檛 even exist now, will require skills like innovation, resilience, teamwork, those that IB helps us develop.鈥� Valeria wants to study Medicine, which is her passion, and she is preparing to access a university in the UK or The Netherlands.

鈥淭he IB is really helping me grow as a person because I feel way more challenged to manage my own time and be organized, but also to accept failure. Sometimes I鈥檝e noticed myself struggle because of the workload. But to be able to accept that and be able to reflect on what have been my mistakes and how I can improve is a skill, self-awareness, that I value so much. And I feel like it鈥檚 going to be useful for later years in my life,鈥� she explains.

The headmaster, Matthew Taylor, commented that 鈥淭he IB at King鈥檚 College is a great success. Students have thrived on the Diploma Programme and made great educational progress, achieving wonderful results, but also growing as intellectually curious, articulate, principled young people. The balance of academic work, alongside community action and service provides pupils with an all-round education. The IB at King鈥檚 College prepares pupils for the future, in this digitally connected world where pupils are expected to work in jobs not yet invented. An extremely popular programme the IB Diploma continues to go from strength to strength at King鈥檚 College.鈥�

To find out more information about studying the IB at King's College Madrid, please view the website here: .

This article first appeared in the 2022/23 edition of John Catt's Guide to International Schools, which you can read here: