IB Core

What is the IB Core?

The core of IB includes Theory of Knowledge (TOK), the Extended Essay (EE) and CAS. The core is what makes the IB program a unique well rounded experience.

The Diploma Programme features three core elements that broaden students’ educational experience and challenge them to apply their knowledge and skills.

• The extended essay asks students to engage in independent research through an in-depth study of a question relating to one of the DP subjects they are studying. The world studies extended essay option allows students to focus on a topic of global significance which they examine through the lens of at least two DP subjects.

• Theory of knowledge (TOK) develops a coherent approach to learning that unifies the academic disciplines. In this course on critical thinking, students inquire into the nature of knowing and deepen their understanding of knowledge as a human construction. After 16 years of life experience and more than a decade of formal education, IB students are knowers- in medias res- already in the thick of the action. TOK allows students to step back from the acquisition of knowledge to ask: "How do we know what we claim to know?"

• CAS involves students in a range of activities alongside their academic studies throughout the Diploma Programme. CAS encourages students to engage in the arts and creative thinking,  seek to develop a healthy lifestyle through physical activity and engage with the community in a sustainable and reciprocal relationship.. The three strands of CAS enhance students’ personal and interpersonal development through experiential learning and enable journeys of self-discovery.