The International Baccalaureate
Organization was founded in Geneva,
Switzerland in 1968 as a non-profit
educational foundation.
Mission
The International Baccalaureate aims
to develop inquiring, knowledgeable
and caring young people who help to
create a better and more peaceful world
through intercultural understanding
and respect. To this end the IB works
with schools, governments and
international organizations to develop
challenging programmes of international
education and rigorous assessment.
These programmes encourage students
across the world to become active,
compassionate and lifelong learners who
understand that other people, with their
differences, can also be right.
Main Activities:
The IB works in four areas:
Development of curriculum
Assessment of students
Training and professional
Authorization and evaluation of schools
Size:
The IB works with almost 4,786 schools
in 153 countries to offer the four IB
programmes to more than one million
students.
IB World Schools
The IB does not own or manage
any schools. Instead, IB works with
schools around the world (both state
and privately funded) that share our
commitment to international education.
Schools that have been authorized
by IB to offer one or more of our
programmes are known as “IB World
Schools”. These schools:
share the mission and commitment
of the IB to quality international
education.
play an active and supporting role
in the worldwide community of IB
schools.
share their knowledge and
experience in the development of
the IB programmes.
are committed to the professional
development of teachers.
Authorization to become an IB World
School is an intensive process that
typically takes two or more years and
includes site visits by an IB team
Programmes
The IB offers four programmes for students
aged 3 to 19. IB World Schools can offer the
programmes individually or as a continuum.
The Primary Years Programme
(PYP) for students aged 3-12 started
in 1997 and is now offered by 1,472
IB World Schools in 109 countries.
The Middle Years Programme (MYP)
for students aged 11-16 started in
1994 and is now offered by 1,356 IB
World Schools in 108 countries.
The Diploma Programme (DP) for
students aged 16 to 19 started in
1968 with first examinations in 1970
and is now offered by 3,923 IB World
Schools in 153 countries worldwide. It
is a challenging two-year curriculum
that is widely recognised by leading
universities throughout the world.
The Career-related Certificate (IBCC)
for students aged 16 to 19 is a new
programme within the IB is now offered
by 214 IB World Schools in 23 countries.
