The International Baccalaureat
Since 1997, our school has offered the IB as an additional qualification to the German Abitur.
Students of grade 12 and 13 (11+12) of the Friedrich Ebert Gymnasium have the opportunity to acquire the Abitur and the IB at the same time. They are taught according to the German curriculum as well as to the IB-guidelines. This means that students participate in their regular classes of standard and higher level in addition to the subjects of History, Mathematics, Physics or Biology in the English language.
Students who wish to participate in the IB-program in addition to the German Abitur need to accomplish the following criteria/conditions in the course of the two years upper school classes:
• Each student takes the course of Theory of Knowledge (TOK) in the English language up to and including grade 13/I (respectively 12/I). In TOK an essay of about 1500 words needs to be composed as well as an oral presentation, which the student needs to evaluate himself.
• The first Higher Level course must be English. The choice of the second Higher Level course depends on the regulations of the “Education and Examination order of upper schools” (Ausbildungs- und Prüfugsordnung der gymnasialen Oberstufe).
• Due to the fact that the work of the students will be evaluated by external examiners, the students have to accomplish additional tasks: the oral assessments in German, English, French and Spanish, which are comparable to the oral assessments of the German Abitur. These are recorded on cassettes.
• Two additional lessons in each of the subjects History, Mathematics and Natural Sciences are offered in the English language as a preparation for the IB-exams. The extra-classes serve the deepening and assurance of language and subject skills.
• In Mathematics, Biology and Physics the student has to prepare several portfolios, practicals and lab-journals.
• In addition, the students have to write a so-called internal assessment in History, a research paper of about 2000 words..
• In the course of the literature classes six works of world literature must be read. For this subject the students have to write several essays (comparison, analysis), which form a part of the grade for German in the IB.
• In a subject of choice an independent research paper (“Forschungsarbeit”) must be written. This work has- except in the mother tongue German and in the foreign languages French and Spanish- to be written in English (Extended Essay, consisting of a maximum of 4000 words). It is almost comparable to the “Besondere Lernleistung” of the German Abitur.
• The students are required to actively participate in communal tasks, divided into the sub- fields Creativity, Action and Service (CAS- activities). These activities can be completed within the school environment (drama- club, orchestra, etc.) as well as by tutorial activities for younger classes or by participating in community affairs or projects involving other countries. With these activities students learn to enlarge and prove their social skills; “learning with and for others”.
• After the adequate preparation due to the additional classes and according to the guidelines of the upper class of the Gymnasium (gymnasiale Oberstufe) and of the International Baccalaureate, the final decision for the IB and the IB- exams is made at the beginning of grade 13 (respectively grade 12).
Although the exams for the German Abitur and the exams for the International Baccalaureate are legally separated they take place in the same period: every year after Easter break1 .
This course of education is offered to every student interested in pursuing the IB- diploma. The school will advise each student individually. However, the German Abitur has priority in the consulting of the student and the decision for the IB- program.
Since 1997- the first year of examination was 1999- 174 students have participated in the IB program at our school. Since then 159 students have received the Bilingual Diploma.
1 The guidelines of the Federal Land of North-Rhine-Westphalia, the “Education and Examination order of upper schools” (Ausbildungs- und Prüfungsordnung für die gymnasiale Oberstufe: APO-GOSt), are valid for the regular Abitur-exams. The edict of the Ministry for School and Education of the Federal Land NRW is responsible for the simultaneous acquirement of the IB- diploma and the German Abitur. The IB underlies the conditions of the International Baccalaureate Office in Geneva. The final exam for the IB-diploma is centrally provided for all IB-schools worldwide. The tasks for the exams are provided by the International Baccalaureate Office in Geneva and corrected centrally. The examination fees for the IB exams amount to about 250€ in the moment. However there are no additional fees to be paid for the IB-program.
Letzte Aktualisierung: 26.09.2011
