Subject Groups

Through each course, students are able to develop:

• a personal appreciation of language and literature

• critical-thinking skills in their interaction with a range of texts from different periods, styles, text-types and literacy forms

• an understanding of the formal, stylistic and aesthetic qualities of texts

• strong powers of expression, both written and oral

• an appreciation of cultural differences in perspective

• an understanding of how language challenges and sustains ways of thinking.

Through studies in language and literature, the DP aims to develop a student's lifelong interest in language and literature, and a love for the richness of human expression.

The main emphasis of the modern language courses is on the acquisition and use of language in a range of contexts and for different purposes while, at the same time, promoting an understanding of another culture through the study of its language.

Three subjects are available to accommodate students’ interest in and previous experience of language study. 

Courses in Individuals and Societies provides for the development of a critical appreciation of:

• human experience and behavior

• the varieties of physical, economic and social environments that people inhabit

• the history of social and cultural institutions.

In addition, each subject is designed to foster in students the capacity to identify, to analyse critically and to evaluate theories, concepts and arguments relating to the nature and activities of individuals and societies.

Students explore the concepts, theories, models and techniques that underpin each subject area and through these develop their understanding of the scientific method.

A compulsory project encourages students to appreciate the environmental, social and ethical implications of science. This exercise is collaborative and interdisciplinary and provides an opportunity for students to explore scientific solutions to global questions.

The aims of these courses are to enable students to:

• develop mathematical knowledge, concepts and principles

• develop logical, critical and creative thinking

• employ and refine their powers of abstraction and generalization.

Students are also encouraged to appreciate the international dimensions of mathematics and the multiplicity of its cultural and historical perspectives.

All DP mathematics courses require students to appreciate the use of technology in mathematics and become proficient with graphic display calculators.

The subjects in the arts allow a high degree of adaptability to different cultural contexts. The emphasis is on creativity in the context of disciplined, practical research into the relevant genres.

In addition, each subject is designed to foster critical, reflective and informed practice, help students understand the dynamic and changing nature of the arts, explore the diversity of arts across time, place and cultures, and express themselves with confidence and competence.