The MYP Programme

What is the MYP?

The Middle Years Programme (MYP) supports students to make connections between their education and the real world through interdisciplinary and inquiry-based learning.

The MYP encourages students to build confidence in managing their own learning and develop a personal understanding of global challenges and responsibilities within their community, whilst building a sense of self and a greater awareness. The MYP allows students to learn professional and vocational skills in preparation for the IB Diploma Programme (DP).

The MYP Curriculum

The MYP is a five-year framework that consists of eight subject groups, with each subject group involving at least 50 hours of teaching per year. The MYP provides flexibility in carefully defined subject groups that allow students to meet local requirements and personal learning goals.

In the final two years of the programme, carefully defined subject group flexibility allows students to meet personal learning goals.

External assessment and recognition

In the final year of the programme, MYP eAssessment provides IB-validated grades based on examinations and coursework. Students who undertake external assessments are eligible for MYP course results and the IB MYP Certificate.

Access and eligibility

The MYP is open to any student aged 11 to 16. The MYP is inclusive by design; students of all interests and academic abilities can benefit from their participation.

The Middle Years Programme (MYP) helps students develop both subject-specific and interdisciplinary understanding. The MYP curriculum framework includes:

Approaches to learning (ATL), helping students learn how to learn by developing skills for research, critical and creative thinking, communication, collaboration, and self-management
Key and Related concepts, helping students explore big ideas that matter
Global contexts, helping students understand the relevance and importance of their study for understanding their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet.

The MYP culminates in an independent learning project (the MYP Personal project). Students complete a significant piece of work over an extended period of time, encouraging them to consolidate their learning and reflect on the outcomes of their work.

How teaching and learning is organized in the MYP

The MYP organizes teaching and learning through eight subject groups.The programme promotes interdisciplinary study that helps students make important connections between academic subjects.

Integrated teaching and learning helps students analyze complex issues and develop the habits of mind they need to participate in our increasingly interconnected world.

Research on the MYP

A recent study shows that MYP students performed significantly better than students from non-IB schools in the ISA focus areas at several grade levels and finds that there is strong evidence that MYP students perform well academically. MYP students performed particularly well across many grades in Narrative writing, Expository writing and Scientific literacy, and had a notable result for Scientific literacy at grade 10. In addition, an independent comparative analysis of MYP and GCSE assessments found that the two qualifications are comparable in terms of cognitive demand and the level and range of skills assessed.

For an overview of MYP studies conducted from around the world, read the MYP key findings.

For further research about the impact of the MYP on students, schools and teachers, please read through the MYP research outcomes. taken from IB research 2024

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