IB Middle Years Programme

The IB Middle Years Programme (MYP), for students aged 11 to 16, is designed as an inclusive, whole-school programme by the International Baccalaureate (IB), a not-for-profit organization supporting the education of more than 1 million students every year in over 3,700 schools in 147 countries.

At Hockerill we have chosen to follow the MYP in Years 7-9 because it includes:

• rigorous learning objectives
• a student-centred approach to teaching
• international perspectives
• concern for the whole child
• sustained teaching and learning in more than one language
• a focus on learning how to learn
• the development of flexible thinking that prepares students to evaluate information critically and apply knowledge in complex, unfamiliar situations.

The MYP teaches tools for lifelong learning and fosters responsible attitudes that help students discover how to use what they learn to take principled action. The MYP’s focus on independent learning makes it ideal preparation for the IB Diploma Programme (DP) which is what we offer in Sixth Form.

Distinctive features of the MYP

At the core of all IB Programmes is the learner profile, 10 attributes fostered in students that promote their global development as responsible members of their local, national and global communities. IB learners strive to be inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced and reflective.

In the MYP, students study 8 subject groups. Distinctive features of the MYP include:

• Key and related concepts are big ideas, which form the basis of teaching and learning in the MYP. They ensure breadth and depth in the curriculum and promote learning within and across traditional disciplines.
• Global contexts provide shared starting points for inquiry into what it means to be internationally minded, framing a curriculum that promotes multilingualism, intercultural understanding and global engagement. 
• Approaches to teaching and learning, a unifying thread throughout all MYP subject groups, are skills which help students manage their own learning. They provide a foundation for success in further education and the world beyond the classroom.
• Activity and service, essential components of the MYP, set out clear learning outcomes that grow from students’ participation in local and global communities. MYP projects are informed by respected models of service learning and provide stepping stones toward the Diploma Programme’s core requirements for Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS).