The unique curriculum at our Arlington Kindergarten and Primary School campus is based on the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme and underpinned by a child-centred inquiry and project-based approach, while the IB at the Blackhall Kalimna Secondary School campus comprises a contemporary and meaningful Middle Years and Diploma Programme befitting the School’s long-standing reputation for offering a progressive and compelling alternative to mainstream schooling.
“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 organisation works with schools, governments and international organisations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment. The 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.”
International Baccalaureate OrganisationMission Statement
Preshil’s approach to the IB at all levels is flexible, innovative and challenging. It is strongly aligned to the School’s long-term commitment to developing the independence and creativity of each of its students in a way which respects their individuality; their goals, interests and capacities.
The IB allows us to offer a much more holistic and collaborative learning culture, reward individual research, community participation, creativity and global citizenship. It equips students with the necessary skills to meet the challenges of higher education and future vocations.
The Primary Years Programme (PYP)
The Kindergarten and Primary school comprises an inspiring curriculum based around the PYP and enriched by Electives and programs in Philosophy, French, Art, Library, Music and Creative Dance. Children’s learning is collaborative and carefully planned to broaden and extend their experiences through intentional and guided inquiry with their teachers.
As an authorised PYP school, we are furthering our commitment to holistic learning that encourages the development of students both in and outside the classroom. The PYP is a transdisciplinary programme that aims to develop students into internationally-minded people who act with respect and dignity for themselves and those around them, and prepares students for the more structured and challenging Middle Years and Diploma Programmes.
The Middle Years Programme (MYP)
Our community of learners is challenged to set goals that support them to reach their own academic potential. The IB Learner Profile emphasises the development of the whole person, actively cultivating the attributes of our students as inquirers; knowledgeable thinkers and communicators who are principled, open-minded, caring, courageous, balanced and reflective; global citizens with an awareness of their common humanity.
The MYP provides a framework of academic challenge for the Australian National Curriculum Years 7-10 and draws upon a world-leading curriculum that encourages students to become active, compassionate and life-long learners, as well as critical and reflective thinkers who identify and make connections between traditional subjects and the real world. Students develop a depth of knowledge and balance through the study of eight subjects: Arts, Individuals and Societies, Language and Literature, Language Acquisition, Mathematics, Physical and Health Education, Sciences and Design.
More information on the Secondary School campus and the school’s IB curriculum is available here.
The Diploma Programme
The Preshil IB is not a narrowly academic alternative to the VCE. Many people have formed this idea of the IB, but it is a limited (and in some ways, a distorted) view; it has led to the common misconception that the IB Diploma is exclusive and can only be undertaken by the most able and academic of students. This view completely underestimates the IB Diploma’s flexibility and emphasis on both collaboration and individuality. Independent research from a wide selection of tertiary institutions (both in Australia and internationally) indicates that the IB Diploma is the best possible preparation for tertiary study and gives students the skills they will need to succeed in their post-school education.
The IB Diploma accommodates for a range of different pathways, encouraging a broad, contemporary education. It is a globally recognised qualification which emphasises personal interest, research and genuine criteria-based assessment, in place of a limited system of ranking students against each other. The programme affords Preshil the opportunity to offer a significantly more holistic and collaborative learning culture, rewarding individual research, community participation, creativity and global citizenship. These qualities have always been at the heart of Preshil’s approach; the IB simply allows us to integrate this approach into all elements of students’ learning.
More information on the Secondary School campus and the school’s IB curriculum is available here.
University Admission: The General Achievement Test (GAT) is a test of general knowledge and skills used by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority to check that VCE school-based and external assessments have been accurately assessed. In the Diploma Programme quality assurance is maintained through the IB’s external moderation, and Diploma candidates are required to sit the GAT in order to achieve an ATAR. The results of this test are also used to calculate the notional ATAR for the IB cohort. Typically, the conversion of Diploma scores into ATARs is extremely favourable.