25-year anniversary for 11 IB World Schools

This year marks the 25th anniversary for 11 International Baccalaureate (IB) World Schools in the Africa, Europe, and Middle East region that have offered the IB Diploma Programme (DP) for a total of 275 teaching years between them. They join many more schools worldwide that have passed this milestone anniversary.

712 DP students from the 11 schools received their examination results in July, joining their 10,844 previous DP graduates, and following in the footsteps of students who have achieved exceptional results before them. The results showcased an average diploma score of 31 points (of 45 possible maximum).

The schools are spread across eight countries (the UK, Croatia, Spain, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark), and 118 different student nationalities are currently represented. The schools celebrating 25 years’ commitment to the IB are:

Broadgreen International School, United Kingdom
XV Gimnazija, Croatia
Turun Normaalikoulu, Finland
Schule Schloss Salem, Germany
Rotterdam International Secondary School, The Netherlands
Birkerod Gymnasium, Denmark
Llandrillo College, United Kingdom
Malvern College, United Kingdom
Leysin American School, Switzerland
Colegio International Meres, Spain
IES Martínez Montañés, Spain

IB programmes are designed to increase future generations’ understanding of languages and cultures, and how to be active participants in a global society. Adrian Kearney, the Africa, Europe, and Middle East Regional Director at the IB, said: “The Diploma Programme was introduced with the original purpose of facilitating the international mobility of students, by providing them with a curriculum and qualification recognised by universities around the world. The students who undertook the DP 25 years ago continue to reap the multitude of benefits that the IB pedagogy delivers, by putting the student at the centre of their learning, and prioritising the development of truly global citizens.”

In Spain earlier this year, IES Martínez Montañés alumnus Daniel Villar conducted a survey to celebrate the 25th anniversary among more than 100 former, mainly Spanish, students of the school. The results showed that nearly one-third of them developed a global outlook and currently reside abroad, in countries such as the UK, the US, Morocco, and Bolivia.

Kearney congratulated the 11 schools: “It is thanks to the IB World School community that our programmes are such a success among students across the world. These schools have been offering the programme now for well over half of the time that the programme has been available, and have seen the programme grow, and inspire students, parents and teachers around the world.”