MANILA, Philippines - On Jan. 30, 2010, Xavier School received official notice from the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO) headquarters in Geneva authorizing the school to offer the IB Diploma Program next school year. IBO director general Jeffrey Beard congratulated the school for what he described as a “significant accomplishment” and welcomed Xavier School as an official IB World School in the growing IB community worldwide. The authorization was achieved after four years of careful study and hard work, and included several assessments and visits by the IB Regional Office.
With this program, Xavier School is taking another significant step towards internationalization by offering a globally recognized curriculum to selected third year and fourth year high school students. Prior to these IB efforts, Xavier has been raising its standards by benchmarking internationally through the iPSLE (International Primary School Leaving Exam of Singapore) for the grade school, the PSAT (Preliminary SAT of the US College Board) in the high school, and the HSK, the international Chinese language exam for foreign students.
The IB Diploma Program offers a rigorous two-year pre-university curriculum that is widely recognized by leading universities all over the world. It is envisioned not only as an enriched program that will prepare Xavier students to be active learners; but also as a benchmark that will continue to raise the school’s overall standards.
In its initial year, the IB program will include English, Chinese, Business & Management, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics; the core IB subjects of Theory of Knowledge (TOK), Creativity-Action-Service (CAS), and the Extended Essay (EE), plus Christian Life Education and Filipino. Over the next five years, Xavier School plans to expand the number of courses in the sciences, as well as in the humanities. Furthermore, the board of trustees would like to make this program accessible to as many qualified Xavier students as possible. For this reason, Xavier School will be offering the most affordable IB Diploma Program in the country.
Over 70 applicants are currently undergoing screening for the program. The members of the first batch of Xavier School IB students will be announced before the school year ends. This authorization is a milestone in Xavier School’s history and is yet another testament to the quality of the Xavier Education, known for innovations since its establishment in 1956.