IB Continuum

The DP is a rigorous course of study for motivated students. That said, prior academic success is less an indicator of ability to earn the diploma than are a student’s determination to do his or her best, willingness to be organized in order to complete the work while leading a full, balanced life, and a strong commitment to learning in and beyond the classroom.

The Middle Years Programme (MYP) is a challenging framework that encourages students to make practical connections between their studies and the real world and culminates in a personal project. Students who complete the MYP are well-prepared to undertake the IB Diploma Programme (DP).

In the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the IB’s youngest students learn about and use knowledge, concepts and skills from a variety of subjects to explore six transdisciplinary themes and begin to develop the attributes of the learner profile.

At ZIS, we recognize that each student has unique learning styles, strengths and challenges. Being an IB school, we place our focus on each student as a whole person. Thus, through our three IB programmes we are equipped to address not only cognitive development but social, emotional and physical well-being. Our aim is to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people with adaptable skills to tackle society’s complex challenges and who will help to make it a better, more peaceful world. Lofty ambitions, but every student is ready to face these challenges.

“Learning in an IB environment involves critical thinking and depth of understanding, skills that are invaluable to making informed decisions in higher education and the workplace.”

-- Alumnus Byron Dolon received his IB diploma from the Shanghai American School, China.

“What is of paramount importance in the pre-university stage is not what is learned but learning how to learn … What matters is not the absorption and regurgitation either of fact or predigested interpretations of facts, but the development of powers of the mind or ways of thinking which can be applied to new situations and new presentations of facts as they arise.”

-- Alec Peterson “The International Baccalaureate: An experiment in International Education.”