An academically challenging, stimulating and inspiring programme of education
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme is an academically-challenging and balanced programme of education that works to develop students who live, learn and work in a rapidly changing world.
With a focus on independent thinking, academic rigour, community service, inter-cultural understanding and respect for others, the Programme prepares students for success at university and beyond.
Our teaching and learning philosophy is to encourage learners who are open to challenge, willing to develop their abilities and achieve their personal best, take risks and accept mistakes, make ethical decisions and enjoy learning.
This vision complements the IB Diploma programme which aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, open-minded, reflective, caring and principled young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through effective communication, intercultural understanding and respect.
The IB Learner Profile underpins the programme and ensures the development of the whole person. Our student success rate for the IB diploma was 100% in 2022. Students also often engage in Creativity, Activity, and Service projects as part of their experiential learning process.
The IB Learner Profile
The International Baccalaureate learner profile came to existence from the IB mission statement. 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.
The Learner Profile has become the values that define the type of learner that IB students aim to be. IB learners are internationally minded individuals that strive to create a better world through understanding the world’s global interconnectedness and humanity. The IB Learner Profile attributes are:
- Inquirers: Develop a natural curiosity that allows them to become lifelong learners.
- Knowledgeable: They explore ideas of importance and dig deep into its meaning creating a balance of their learning.
- Thinkers: They apply thinking skills that allow them to tackle complex problems in creative ways.
- Communicators: They understand and can articulate information in confident, creative ways, including a second language.
- Principled: Students are honest, fair, just and full of integrity. They strive to solve their own problems and to take responsibility for their own actions.
- Open-minded: Students understand and embrace other cultures. They recognize and celebrate their own backgrounds and learn tolerance for others.
- Caring: Students actively care about others and participate in active service.
- Risk-Takers: Students are brave in the face of new challenges. They strive to take on new roles and to defend their own beliefs.
- Balanced: Students understand the need to be emotionally, physically and mentally balanced. They strive for this in themselves and others.
- Reflective: Students reflect on their own learning. They are able to adjust for weaknesses and strengths.
If you’re still undecided about the best academic pathway to take, the IB has launched a new video series on how the Diploma Programme prepares students for university, and why universities value the experience that IB students bring along.
- Provides students a careful balance of subject breadth and depth
- Addresses the nature of knowledge across disciplines through the unique Theory of Knowledge course
- Encourages international-mindedness, including a foundation in the student’s first language and culture and in a second language
- Develops a positive attitude to learning that prepares students for university education
- Offers a strong reputation for its rigorous external assessment with published global standards, this qualification is welcomed by universities worldwide.
- Emphasises the development of the whole student – physically, intellectually, emotionally and ethically
- All Year 12 students who meet the entry requirements can enter. It is not limited to students who achieve highly
- It is taught over two years with final examinations held at the end of Year 13. Students can also take NZQA scholarship exams
- The students select one subject from each of the six subject groups, with some variation possible, within these choices: Studies in Language and Literature, Language Acquisition, Individuals and Societies, Sciences, Mathematics, The Arts
- Three subjects are studied at a higher level and the remainder are studied at a standard level. While both are two-year courses, higher level has more content and requires deeper thinking.
- Each subject includes at least 20% internal assessment
The IB Diploma Programme comprises three important additional compulsory components:
1. Extended Essay
The extended essay of some 4,000 words offers the opportunity for IB students to investigate a topic of special interest, usually one of the student’s six Diploma Programme subjects, and acquaints them with the independent research and writing skills expected at university.
2. Theory of Knowledge
Theory of Knowledge has an emphasis on the development of critical thinking skills, encouraging students to be aware of subjective biases and to develop the ability to analyse evidence. This is a key element in encouraging students to appreciate other perspectives.
3. CAS (Creativity, activity, service)
Creativity, activity, service is at the heart of the Diploma Programme, involving students in a range of activities that take place alongside their academic studies throughout the IB Diploma Programme.
Where are our IB Diploma graduates now?
“My IB Diploma experience at Dio was the highlight of my high school life.”
Shellie's story
Shellie Hu is currently studying art, media design and computer science at Wellesley College.
I took Chinese A (HL), English B (HL), Economics (HL), Physics (SL), Mathematics (SL) and Visual Arts (SL). The subjects were challenging but I found learning them rewarding and joyful. The sense of enjoyment was mainly made up by the satisfaction after overcoming difficult problems and the pleasure of learning new knowledge.
I applied to 20 universities in total, of which 16 were American universities. I feel extremely glad that I got offers from some of my dream schools, including Wellesley College and University of Michigan Ann Arbor, and received generous scholarships from many other schools like University of Sydney, University of Toronto, Boston University and so on.
My top choices were Wellesley College and University of Michigan Ann Arbor, and I had a dilemma when choosing which to attend. Both universities are academically strong, offering students outstanding research and internship opportunities. The only differences are the school type and class size. Wellesley is a private liberal arts female college, having a higher faculty-student ratio, whereas UMichigan is a public university so the class sizes are normally larger.
I chose Wellesley College in the end, because besides its value in promoting female education and leadership, its liberal arts education amazes me. Wellesley encourages students to learn as much knowledge as possible, and they don’t have to narrow their interests down to specific fields in the early undergraduate years. This is why I intend to study Media Arts and Sciences, an interdepartmental major that provides a well-rounded understanding in art, media design and computer science. I used to define myself as an art person and I thought I would end up in an art school. However, after studying the IB Diploma, I fell in love with exploring many more subjects. In my college application portfolio, I used mathematical rules to create generative art; I applied my understanding of ancient Chinese pictograph in designing fonts… I truly enjoy gathering inspirations from different knowledge fields and creating interdisciplinary work. Studying at a liberal arts college will enable me to have a stronger knowledge base and prepare me for my graduate and professional study in the future.
“My attitude towards learning and studying has changed positively because of IB”
Bethany's Story
I am currently studying Architecture at AUT. Choosing to study IB was a really hard transition for me at the beginning, especially because I was never super “smart”. However, I learned through IB that it’s all about the skills I gained. Because of its well rounded nature, IB taught me so much about who I am and how to push myself to be the best that I can be. I noticed that at university I was so eager to learn and so many skills that were required of us I already knew very well from IB. I have definitely noticed how much my attitude towards learning and studying has changed positively because of IB and I highly encourage any student to
give it a crack!
“IB equipped me with great time management skills and academic independence”
Olivia's Story
I am studying Law and Psychology at Otago University. IB definitely prepared me for my future studies by equipping me with great time management skills and academic independence that is essential in Uni. It was a lot easier to transition into Uni having done IB because I already had experience with things like strict word limits and referencing… and the cooking I did for CAS has been very helpful in my first year of flatting!
“The IB Diploma programme has truly set me up with the foundation I needed to succeed in my college years.”
Tracy's story
Since graduating in 2016, I moved to New York to attend Columbia University, where I major in Psychology and East Asian Languages and Cultures. I have loved living in the heart of Manhattan, and I have taken full advantage of the opportunities the city and my university offer.
Throughout the past four years, I have interned in Hong Kong, studied abroad in Paris, and enrolled in language programs in South Korea. I have made friends from all over the world, and taken classes with world-renowned professors in disciplines not limited to my major, including art history, philosophy, and history.
The IB Diploma programme has truly set me up with the foundation I needed to succeed in my college years. The rigorous language classes prepared me to take classes in French while abroad in Paris. Theory of Knowledge equipped me with critical thinking skills, which was crucial when participating in seminar-style university classes where you have to debate and defend your viewpoint.
Overall, the time management skills, essay writing, and organization skills I gained from the Diploma programme have been invaluable, and I’m incredibly grateful to have gone through the two years with my IB cohort at Dio.
“After graduating from Diocesan, I moved to Budapest (Hungary) to complete a pre-medical programme... The IB Diploma Programme hugely prepared me for the entrance exams.”
Fanni's story
Fanni is a Doctor of Medicine Student at Semmelweis University, Budapest.
After graduating from Diocesan, I moved to Budapest (Hungary) to complete a pre-medical programme, and went on to sit the entrance exams for Semmelweis University in June. I am delighted to have been offered a place and will begin my studies towards a Doctor of Medicine degree in September.
Although my entry was based mostly on the entrance exams, the IB Diploma Programme hugely prepared me for these as well as to study abroad. The level of the HL classes gave me a very strong foundation, and even my SL classes prepared me hugely for the new workload because of the broad syllabus we covered.
The range of question types and examination strategies that I had learnt as part of the IB Diploma were, and continue to be, a great help. I have now met people who have taken the IB Diploma from all around the world, and it is an amazing community to be a part of.
“I could really tell how the personal, interpersonal and leadership skills I developed during the IB Diploma were so helpful to me.”
Sacha's story
After graduating in 2018, I went on a gap year to Israel as part of a Jewish youth leadership/personal development program called Israel By Choice.
I spent the first 7 months learning Hebrew, Jewish studies & Israeli/Middle Eastern politics, travelling and hiking the country and running educational & social activities for the other participants on my program. As well as this, I also learnt to live in a group environment, whether in our student accommodation in Jerusalem or our tiny independent living apartments in Yerucham, a town in the middle of the desert where we volunteered.
I also trained on an educational army base for the next 2 months, and finally attended a 3 month long leadership academy where I lived with Israelis and other gap year participants from around the world.
Although I wasn’t in a formal learning environment, I could really tell how the personal, interpersonal and leadership skills I developed during the IB Diploma were so helpful to me over this year, such as what I learnt in CAS encouraging me to take initiative and become a leader on the program, volunteer for whatever I could, and take risks, trying lots of new things. The cooking skills I learnt as part of my creativity practice also definitely came in handy during my year away! Additionally, being overseas meant the international languages aspect of the IB Diploma was really useful, as I could use my Spanish to talk to the many South American participants whom I lived with, and to get around when I travelled during our holidays to other places such as Barcelona.
At the end of 2019 I returned home, back to my community, to be leader in our Jewish youth movement and to start university in 2020. I did first year Biomedicine at Auckland University, where the subjects, learning and inquiry skills I learnt in the IB Diploma were so helpful in allowing me to succeed in my course and enjoy my first year of university, especially through the crazy experience that was online uni and exams. Compared to many of my peers I felt like the content I had studied in IB was much more similar to my uni course content, and our internals and projects such as the EE really prepared me for academic report writing.
In 2021, I have started university as a 2nd year medical student in Auckland, and am continuing in giving back to my community, volunteering as the National Director or Bnei Akiva New Zealand, for my Jewish youth movement where we run weekly social and educational activities, along with larger community events & holiday camps for our participants around the country.
“I'm really thankful I did IB!”
May's story
May is at Griffith University, Australia studying a Bachelor of Dental Health Science.
“You will be very happy to hear that I got automatic credits for the trimester 1 Chemistry course because I did IB Chemistry HL! Everyone is surprised when I tell them I got credits for a Uni course because I am a school leaver, but then I tell them “Oh, I have an IB Diploma from school.” It saved both time and money for this trimester, so I’m really thankful that I did IB!
“Also, there is a course called ‘Cells Tissues and Regulations’, which is quite similar to IB Biology but with a bit more depth. It would have been really hard if I had not studied IB Biology because the Professor went over the contents, which we spent weeks on at school, in just one day! I also had to write an essay for one of the courses and the referencing skills I learned from writing my EE and IAs were a life saver! The required format was a bit different, but still the experience from doing IB was really helpful indeed.”
“Is the IB Diploma worth it? 100%. I learnt so much about myself such as what study techniques are most effective for me, time-management skills, and the ability to think beyond what is offered in a textbook and really challenge your own thinking.”
Jessica's story
Kia ora! My name is Jessica Li and I graduated from Dio in 2018. I am now in my penultimate year at the University of Auckland studying a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics/Finance) and Bachelor of Global Studies (Sustainable Development) conjoint. My degree always challenges me intellectually to explore the intersection between business and sustainability. My key areas of interest include energy economics, sustainable investment, and financial inclusion. This intellectual curiosity began back in Year 12 when I started the IB Diploma. My favourite subjects were IB Geography (HL) and IB Economics (HL) as they provided a wide overview of the global social, economic and environmental challenges humanity faces and how we can work together to co-create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive world.
You may ask, is the IB Diploma worth it? 100%. I have to thank IB for preparing me so well for university. I learnt so much about myself such as what study techniques are most effective for me, time-management skills, and the ability to think beyond what is offered in a textbook and really challenge your own thinking. I like to call this “The IB Head Start”, as I discovered in most of my first year papers the content had already been covered in IB. This enabled me to have plenty of free time at university to explore life beyond my courses. I was able to participate in a lot of extracurricular such as university clubs, volunteering, and meeting lots of new friends. Reflecting back, I do not think this would have been possible if I was struggling with time-management, organisation and studying techniques which was a common issue amongst first year students
“I think my time management improved as a result of the IB. I am aware of due dates and how much needs to be done by what time. ”
“I’m currently doing a Bachelor of Creative Technologies (or as my lecturer says, degree of video game art) at Media Design School in Auckland. For the Uni assignments that I don’t really enjoy, like a seven minute presentation on a historical gaming console, having written the EE, and been made to reference properly helped immensely. I think my time management has also improved. I am aware of due dates and how much needs to be done by what time. I’ve learnt to plan out when I am going to do what and what I should prioritise if two assessments are due on the same day.
“IB has made the switch to Uni life feel completely natural.”
“I am currently studying Pharmacology at Auckland University, but will be transferring to Lund University in Sweden in September. I’m so thankful I took IB as Uni has been a breeze. The time management and planning skills from IB have made the switch to Uni life feel completely natural. The content in the first year is very similar to what I took in IB, and the EE and IA writing and referencing skills have been invaluable.
This means I’m already ahead and have notes on a lot of the topics. IB research skills have also meant I know where and how to find reliable information, saving me so much time.”
“IB helped me learn how to manage a bigger workload, so University doesn't feel as daunting.”
“I’m studying Health Sciences First Year at the University of Otago, and looking back, I’m so grateful I chose IB. I took HL Biology and everything we learnt in IB is essentially the same to what we’re studying in our human body systems and cell and molecular biology papers. The workload feels less overwhelming as I’m quite familiar with most of the content and I feel as though IB helped me learn how to manage a bigger workload, so University doesn’t feel as daunting as I imagined.
IB required me to take a range of subjects which I may not have continued with, but which I now find helpful. Math AA (Calculus with some Statistics) helps in Physics and even in a Human Body Systems paper, in which I am doing a small biostatistics module.”
“Assignments are not difficult and I feel my essay writing is above par. ”
“I’m on a Waterpolo Scholarship at the University of San Diego, doing a degree in Environmental Engineering. I am taking Biology, Physics, Ancient World History, Astronomy for Science majors and Music History.
Not only am I very much enjoying Physics and Astronomy, but am also finding them very manageable and this is most definitely due to my having taken higher level Physics. I feel my IB Physics has greatly prepared me for this class, and I feel confident with what we are learning. The Astronomy class gives me an opportunity to apply this learning in a more practical way.
In History, there is a great focus on essay writing. I am pleased to say that I feel well versed in this skill from having done the IAs and EE in IB, so the assignments are not difficult and I feel my essay writing is above par.
Due to getting 5+ in each of my IB HL subjects, I receive credit for 2 Physics, 2 Economics and 2 English courses, which adds up to a full semester of work that I don’t have to do. This has been a real advantage!”
“IB taught me time management skills and organisation which help me keep on top of my work.”
“I’m studying a Bachelor of Molecular Science combined with a Masters of Biotechnology at the University of Western Australia.
So far, I have been finding the workload very easy in comparison to IB, as I have already learned all the content for biology and chemistry. IB taught me time management skills and organisation which help me keep on top of my work and allow me to make time for the hobbies that I have continued from CAS. I’m also much less risk-averse since taking IB and have further developed this skill at Uni by going out of my way to meet new people and committing to new activities.”
Shellie's story
Shellie Hu is currently studying art, media design and computer science at Wellesley College.
I took Chinese A (HL), English B (HL), Economics (HL), Physics (SL), Mathematics (SL) and Visual Arts (SL). The subjects were challenging but I found learning them rewarding and joyful. The sense of enjoyment was mainly made up by the satisfaction after overcoming difficult problems and the pleasure of learning new knowledge.
I applied to 20 universities in total, of which 16 were American universities. I feel extremely glad that I got offers from some of my dream schools, including Wellesley College and University of Michigan Ann Arbor, and received generous scholarships from many other schools like University of Sydney, University of Toronto, Boston University and so on.
My top choices were Wellesley College and University of Michigan Ann Arbor, and I had a dilemma when choosing which to attend. Both universities are academically strong, offering students outstanding research and internship opportunities. The only differences are the school type and class size. Wellesley is a private liberal arts female college, having a higher faculty-student ratio, whereas UMichigan is a public university so the class sizes are normally larger.
I chose Wellesley College in the end, because besides its value in promoting female education and leadership, its liberal arts education amazes me. Wellesley encourages students to learn as much knowledge as possible, and they don’t have to narrow their interests down to specific fields in the early undergraduate years. This is why I intend to study Media Arts and Sciences, an interdepartmental major that provides a well-rounded understanding in art, media design and computer science. I used to define myself as an art person and I thought I would end up in an art school. However, after studying the IB Diploma, I fell in love with exploring many more subjects. In my college application portfolio, I used mathematical rules to create generative art; I applied my understanding of ancient Chinese pictograph in designing fonts… I truly enjoy gathering inspirations from different knowledge fields and creating interdisciplinary work. Studying at a liberal arts college will enable me to have a stronger knowledge base and prepare me for my graduate and professional study in the future.
Bethany's Story
I am currently studying Architecture at AUT. Choosing to study IB was a really hard transition for me at the beginning, especially because I was never super “smart”. However, I learned through IB that it’s all about the skills I gained. Because of its well rounded nature, IB taught me so much about who I am and how to push myself to be the best that I can be. I noticed that at university I was so eager to learn and so many skills that were required of us I already knew very well from IB. I have definitely noticed how much my attitude towards learning and studying has changed positively because of IB and I highly encourage any student to
give it a crack!
Olivia's Story
I am studying Law and Psychology at Otago University. IB definitely prepared me for my future studies by equipping me with great time management skills and academic independence that is essential in Uni. It was a lot easier to transition into Uni having done IB because I already had experience with things like strict word limits and referencing… and the cooking I did for CAS has been very helpful in my first year of flatting!
Tracy's story
Since graduating in 2016, I moved to New York to attend Columbia University, where I major in Psychology and East Asian Languages and Cultures. I have loved living in the heart of Manhattan, and I have taken full advantage of the opportunities the city and my university offer.
Throughout the past four years, I have interned in Hong Kong, studied abroad in Paris, and enrolled in language programs in South Korea. I have made friends from all over the world, and taken classes with world-renowned professors in disciplines not limited to my major, including art history, philosophy, and history.
The IB Diploma programme has truly set me up with the foundation I needed to succeed in my college years. The rigorous language classes prepared me to take classes in French while abroad in Paris. Theory of Knowledge equipped me with critical thinking skills, which was crucial when participating in seminar-style university classes where you have to debate and defend your viewpoint.
Overall, the time management skills, essay writing, and organization skills I gained from the Diploma programme have been invaluable, and I’m incredibly grateful to have gone through the two years with my IB cohort at Dio.
Fanni's story
Fanni is a Doctor of Medicine Student at Semmelweis University, Budapest.
After graduating from Diocesan, I moved to Budapest (Hungary) to complete a pre-medical programme, and went on to sit the entrance exams for Semmelweis University in June. I am delighted to have been offered a place and will begin my studies towards a Doctor of Medicine degree in September.
Although my entry was based mostly on the entrance exams, the IB Diploma Programme hugely prepared me for these as well as to study abroad. The level of the HL classes gave me a very strong foundation, and even my SL classes prepared me hugely for the new workload because of the broad syllabus we covered.
The range of question types and examination strategies that I had learnt as part of the IB Diploma were, and continue to be, a great help. I have now met people who have taken the IB Diploma from all around the world, and it is an amazing community to be a part of.
Sacha's story
After graduating in 2018, I went on a gap year to Israel as part of a Jewish youth leadership/personal development program called Israel By Choice.
I spent the first 7 months learning Hebrew, Jewish studies & Israeli/Middle Eastern politics, travelling and hiking the country and running educational & social activities for the other participants on my program. As well as this, I also learnt to live in a group environment, whether in our student accommodation in Jerusalem or our tiny independent living apartments in Yerucham, a town in the middle of the desert where we volunteered.
I also trained on an educational army base for the next 2 months, and finally attended a 3 month long leadership academy where I lived with Israelis and other gap year participants from around the world.
Although I wasn’t in a formal learning environment, I could really tell how the personal, interpersonal and leadership skills I developed during the IB Diploma were so helpful to me over this year, such as what I learnt in CAS encouraging me to take initiative and become a leader on the program, volunteer for whatever I could, and take risks, trying lots of new things. The cooking skills I learnt as part of my creativity practice also definitely came in handy during my year away! Additionally, being overseas meant the international languages aspect of the IB Diploma was really useful, as I could use my Spanish to talk to the many South American participants whom I lived with, and to get around when I travelled during our holidays to other places such as Barcelona.
At the end of 2019 I returned home, back to my community, to be leader in our Jewish youth movement and to start university in 2020. I did first year Biomedicine at Auckland University, where the subjects, learning and inquiry skills I learnt in the IB Diploma were so helpful in allowing me to succeed in my course and enjoy my first year of university, especially through the crazy experience that was online uni and exams. Compared to many of my peers I felt like the content I had studied in IB was much more similar to my uni course content, and our internals and projects such as the EE really prepared me for academic report writing.
In 2021, I have started university as a 2nd year medical student in Auckland, and am continuing in giving back to my community, volunteering as the National Director or Bnei Akiva New Zealand, for my Jewish youth movement where we run weekly social and educational activities, along with larger community events & holiday camps for our participants around the country.
May's story
May is at Griffith University, Australia studying a Bachelor of Dental Health Science.
“You will be very happy to hear that I got automatic credits for the trimester 1 Chemistry course because I did IB Chemistry HL! Everyone is surprised when I tell them I got credits for a Uni course because I am a school leaver, but then I tell them “Oh, I have an IB Diploma from school.” It saved both time and money for this trimester, so I’m really thankful that I did IB!
“Also, there is a course called ‘Cells Tissues and Regulations’, which is quite similar to IB Biology but with a bit more depth. It would have been really hard if I had not studied IB Biology because the Professor went over the contents, which we spent weeks on at school, in just one day! I also had to write an essay for one of the courses and the referencing skills I learned from writing my EE and IAs were a life saver! The required format was a bit different, but still the experience from doing IB was really helpful indeed.”
Jessica's story
Kia ora! My name is Jessica Li and I graduated from Dio in 2018. I am now in my penultimate year at the University of Auckland studying a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics/Finance) and Bachelor of Global Studies (Sustainable Development) conjoint. My degree always challenges me intellectually to explore the intersection between business and sustainability. My key areas of interest include energy economics, sustainable investment, and financial inclusion. This intellectual curiosity began back in Year 12 when I started the IB Diploma. My favourite subjects were IB Geography (HL) and IB Economics (HL) as they provided a wide overview of the global social, economic and environmental challenges humanity faces and how we can work together to co-create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive world.
You may ask, is the IB Diploma worth it? 100%. I have to thank IB for preparing me so well for university. I learnt so much about myself such as what study techniques are most effective for me, time-management skills, and the ability to think beyond what is offered in a textbook and really challenge your own thinking. I like to call this “The IB Head Start”, as I discovered in most of my first year papers the content had already been covered in IB. This enabled me to have plenty of free time at university to explore life beyond my courses. I was able to participate in a lot of extracurricular such as university clubs, volunteering, and meeting lots of new friends. Reflecting back, I do not think this would have been possible if I was struggling with time-management, organisation and studying techniques which was a common issue amongst first year students
“I’m currently doing a Bachelor of Creative Technologies (or as my lecturer says, degree of video game art) at Media Design School in Auckland. For the Uni assignments that I don’t really enjoy, like a seven minute presentation on a historical gaming console, having written the EE, and been made to reference properly helped immensely. I think my time management has also improved. I am aware of due dates and how much needs to be done by what time. I’ve learnt to plan out when I am going to do what and what I should prioritise if two assessments are due on the same day.
“I am currently studying Pharmacology at Auckland University, but will be transferring to Lund University in Sweden in September. I’m so thankful I took IB as Uni has been a breeze. The time management and planning skills from IB have made the switch to Uni life feel completely natural. The content in the first year is very similar to what I took in IB, and the EE and IA writing and referencing skills have been invaluable.
This means I’m already ahead and have notes on a lot of the topics. IB research skills have also meant I know where and how to find reliable information, saving me so much time.”
“I’m studying Health Sciences First Year at the University of Otago, and looking back, I’m so grateful I chose IB. I took HL Biology and everything we learnt in IB is essentially the same to what we’re studying in our human body systems and cell and molecular biology papers. The workload feels less overwhelming as I’m quite familiar with most of the content and I feel as though IB helped me learn how to manage a bigger workload, so University doesn’t feel as daunting as I imagined.
IB required me to take a range of subjects which I may not have continued with, but which I now find helpful. Math AA (Calculus with some Statistics) helps in Physics and even in a Human Body Systems paper, in which I am doing a small biostatistics module.”
“I’m on a Waterpolo Scholarship at the University of San Diego, doing a degree in Environmental Engineering. I am taking Biology, Physics, Ancient World History, Astronomy for Science majors and Music History.
Not only am I very much enjoying Physics and Astronomy, but am also finding them very manageable and this is most definitely due to my having taken higher level Physics. I feel my IB Physics has greatly prepared me for this class, and I feel confident with what we are learning. The Astronomy class gives me an opportunity to apply this learning in a more practical way.
In History, there is a great focus on essay writing. I am pleased to say that I feel well versed in this skill from having done the IAs and EE in IB, so the assignments are not difficult and I feel my essay writing is above par.
Due to getting 5+ in each of my IB HL subjects, I receive credit for 2 Physics, 2 Economics and 2 English courses, which adds up to a full semester of work that I don’t have to do. This has been a real advantage!”
“I’m studying a Bachelor of Molecular Science combined with a Masters of Biotechnology at the University of Western Australia.
So far, I have been finding the workload very easy in comparison to IB, as I have already learned all the content for biology and chemistry. IB taught me time management skills and organisation which help me keep on top of my work and allow me to make time for the hobbies that I have continued from CAS. I’m also much less risk-averse since taking IB and have further developed this skill at Uni by going out of my way to meet new people and committing to new activities.”
The IB Dux for 2022 is Erica Hu.
Erica received 42 points to become the IB Dux for 2022. She’s an exceptional student noted for her self-discipline and willingness to challenge herself at the highest level. She learned braille and made a card game for blind people to satisfy the creativity, activity and service (CAS) requirement of the IB diploma, which challenges students to enhance their development through experiential learning. She also taught students science as part of the CAS.
Outside the classroom, Erica is involved in the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras. She’ll be attending the University of California, San Diego in September where she’ll be studying Human Biology. Erica goes on to the next part of her journey with our best wishes as the Diocesan International Baccalaureate Diploma Dux recipient for 2022.
The 2022 award went to Daniella Kassir.
This award is given to a student in Year 13 who, throughout the two years of the Diploma, has consistently exhibited the attributes of the IB Learner Profile. This profile can be considered as a map of a lifelong journey in pursuit of international-mindedness. It aims to develop active, compassionate and lifelong learners, and to prepare students to make exceptional contributions both at school and beyond. The IB mission is to encourage students to be inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open- minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced, and reflective, thus educating the whole person for a life of active, responsible citizenship.
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