Success in all areas of study and life come from solid foundations. To ensure our students enjoy and achieve in their own personal journeys, there are key areas that they will receive regular input and guidance with:
making positive choices
using top tips and advice
developing approaches to learning
understanding the assessment details
scoring IB points and achieving the Diploma Programme
Every year our subject portfolio across the whole school grows as we ask our students about individual interests, what they enjoy and want to study in the future. We know if our students enjoy what they are learning, they will continue to achieve their very best.
The best advice in selecting subjects for Sixth Form study is to consider the three key questions below:
What do you enjoy studying now?
What is your passion and which subjects will help you follow your dreams in the future?
What areas are you most likely to be successful?
Subject choices are an individual thing, so whilst we want students to gain the advice of others, we also recommend that it is not a good idea to pick a subject because a best friend is studying the same, or because it is what their parent would prefer.
Students are therefore encouraged to first think about the three questions independently, then to talk with friends, parents and teachers. The process of deciding is not one to rush and decisions are never final. This means, that should a student start by selecting History and then decide they would prefer to study Business Management, we will fully discuss the change and support the student.
A proven fact is that students listen more to their peers, then they do to their parents and teachers!
Below provides top tips and pieces of advice that former IB students would give to themselves if they completed Diploma Programme again. This will help our students learn from these ideas and avoid some of the common pitfalls, that other students have made previously:
Embrace your challenges – own up to them, be responsible for them. Work to improve on your challenges and tackle your goals in each subject.
Learn to love what you do – even if you have to pretend for a while.
It will get hard at times – persevere and remember that things will get done by those deadlines no matter how hard the situation may initially seem. Someone will always be able to help you.
Try and manage your time well, you’ll get a lot more sleep, be a lot less stressed and feel a lot better about yourself.
There is always light at the end of the tunnel – persevere wit those subjects that you are less confident with. Even if it takes you a year to obtain the mark you want and achieve the improvement you seek, you have time.
You can achieve your goals – be determined and persistent and let those around you inspire you. Find inspiration in whatever fuels your ambition or motivation. Be ambitious, its a good thing.
Seek help from those around you – the people in your cohort are some of your most valuable resources. They can help you, support you, and they are there for you for the 2 years. Your teachers are also extremely valuable, treasure them.
Help each other – IB students need to stick together. It is not a competition, and rather, you will all fare better if you stick together.
Keep your extra-curriculars and keep doing the things you enjoy (make time for them!)- it will keep you from being stressed out.
Lastly, and most importantly, don’t be afraid to fail. It is the only way to build resilience. Failure shouldn’t stop you, it should fuel you. Without failure there cannot be progress. You are allowed to feel a little down each time you fall below your expectations in an exam or test, but don’t let it get in the way of your future efforts in that subject! Each time you bounce back, that’s a success in itself. It takes courage to realise, but failures and weaknesses are actually more important than your successes!
Why, all of a sudden, are so many successful business leaders urging their companies and colleagues to make more mistakes and embrace more failures? Right after he became CEO of Coca-Cola Co., James Quincey called upon managers to get beyond the fear of failure that had dogged the company since the 'New Coke' fiasco of so many years ago. “If we’re not making mistakes,” he insisted, “we’re not trying hard enough.” (hbr.org)
Without doubt, if you ask a HHIS learner about the importance of our I Values, they will respond by saying that being Intrepid is key to achieving your best! This value of embracing risks supports success throughout education and life and we are proud that HHIS students are willing to step out of their comfort zones and accept new challenges. Along aside developing a risk-taking approach, students also further enhance their approaches to learning (ATL) to support academic success and so they progress with confidence to University and into the world of work.
Approaches to learning include;
Thinking skills
Communication skills
Social skills
Self-management skills
Research skills
In the Sixth Form, there are dedicated lessons for ATL every week. This provides an an ideal setting to guide and support all students with all their studies. Working in partnership with our students and teachers, a range of excellent ideas have already been developed. We know the key to success is to listen and work together, allowing our learners to reflect and identify their own needs...
The initial ideas for ATL lessons are included below and these will naturally evolve, as we gain further student input as they progress and benefit from the experiences of the IB Diploma Programme:
Meaning of well-being
Basic First Aid
Highway Code
Personal Finance
Budgeting
Beating (not just meeting) deadlines
How to plan a trip (booking tickets, hotels, exchange rates etc..)
How to research - Citation and referencing
How to complete a Risk Assessment
Notetaking skills
Etiquette! (In your first job, using email and online platforms)
How to say "No" assertively - in the office and in life
First job survival
Teamwork makes the dream work
CV's and personal statements
Universities and applications
“Boiling an egg”
Presentation skills
Digital detox
The International Baccalaureate assesses student work as direct evidence of achievement against the stated goals of the Diploma Programme courses. DP assessment procedures measure the extent to which students have mastered advanced academic skills in fulfilling these goals, for example:
analysing and presenting information
evaluating and constructing arguments
solving problems creatively.
Basic skills are also assessed, including:
retaining knowledge
understanding key concepts
applying standard methods.
In addition to academic skills, DP assessment encourages an international outlook and intercultural skills, wherever appropriate.
Student results are determined by performance against set standards, not by each student's position in the overall rank order. To assess performance, the IB uses both external and internal assessment in the DP.
External assessment in the form of examinations form the basis of the assessment for most courses. This is because of their high levels of objectivity and reliability. They include:
essays
structured problems
short-response questions
data-response questions
text-response questions
case-study questions
Internal assessment is also used for most courses. This includes:
oral work
fieldwork
laboratory work
investigations
For the full IB Diploma, students must successfully study six subjects from the following groups:
1. Studies in Language and Literature
2. Language Acquisition
3. Individuals and Societies
4. Sciences
5. Mathematics
6. The Arts
In addition to studying six subject courses, students must also successfully complete the Theory of Knowledge (TOK), Extended Essay (EE) and Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) requirements.
Students can earn up to a maximum of 45 points for the IB Diploma. Each one of the IB subjects is graded on a 1-7 scale. A score of 7 is the highest which would is equivalent to an A* Grade. A score of 6 is an A, 5 is a B and a score of 4 is equivalent to a C. To determine diploma eligibility, the marks in each of the six subjects are totalled and there is also an additional three points available, which may be awarded for a student’s combined performance on TOK and the Extended Essay. The CAS component must be successfully completed, but it is not scored.
In order to receive the full IB Diploma, a student must achieve a total points score of 24 or more. There are further rules and requirements and these will be fully communicated to students and parents throughout the completion of the Diploma Programme.
HHIS is very proud to work in partnership with the International Baccalaureate and offer the Diploma Programme for our students. Teachers will guide and support students when they are selecting subjects and parents should be fully involved in the selection process. It is important to select subjects that suit a student's interests, talents and skills. Students should consider the subjects that they feel they will be most successful at and also the subjects that they might like to do in the future, both in terms of further education and as a career.
Studying the Diploma in Year 12 and 13 is a very exciting step...
"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 organization 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."