A broad and balanced curriculum
At ACS International Schools, we deliver IB programmes that provide a far more well-rounded approach to subjects.
Discussions on the validity of the UK National Curriculum is nothing new but was brought to the fore when Rishi Sunak announced the Conservative Party’s plans for A Level reforms, which included the introduction of the Advanced British Standard to ensure that students in England study a wider range of subjects – including maths and English – to the age of 18.
Of course, the talk of an English Baccalaureate is not new. Mr Sunak’s aspiration for a broader and more balanced curriculum is less a move toward the Continent than it is a late acknowledgment of international standards. Since the late 1960s, globally respected organisations, like the International Baccalaureate (IB), have recognised the importance of not only maths and English for school leavers, but also world languages, science, social studies, and the arts.
While a commitment to studying a wider range of subjects in Post-16 education is a step in the right direction, it is important that a student’s education doesn’t solely focus on subject knowledge. Young people need a well-rounded education that prepares them not only for university, but the extraordinary challenges they will inherit from their elders.
The world also needs —and employers expect— competence in interdisciplinary thinking, advanced communication, and critical problem solving that many national systems consistently fail to deliver.
This is why, at ACS Egham, we deliver IB programmes because they provide a far more well-rounded approach to subjects. If we take maths as an example, rather than focussing solely on knowledge, students develop communication skills, learn pattern recognition and the real-life applications of mathematics. That’s when students are really learning, and gain a genuine, deeper understanding. The IB Career Related Programme creates an entire applied pathway for students who couple academic challenge with highly practical engagement in exciting fields like business, digital design, and theatre arts.
The real beauty of IB Programmes is that they remain flexible and adaptive to local educational demands and the needs of students.
Teachers design curricular and create learning experiences that go beyond the mastery of content standards. While this is understandably more challenging and time consuming, it is far more professionally rewarding because we aren’t spoon-feeding our students with a static, uninspiring and overpacked curriculum that doesn’t challenge them or prepare them for the complexity of the world beyond school.
With an IB education, students leave our school as empowered individuals, equipped with the academic and emotional intelligence to empathise and engage with tomorrow’s big issues, ready for a future full of opportunity.
Mark Wilson, Head of School, ACS Egham
