With the introduction of the International Baccalaureat (I.B.) at Istituto Vittoria we have achieved the final step in a journey we began many years ago, to create and develop an experimental, truly international school. We now have the international character and status that reflect the mission and identity of the school since its inception.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme is a challenging two year secondary school curriculum, corresponding to the Italian fourth and fifth years of Liceo. The course is authorized by the IBO (International Baccalaureate Organization), based in Geneva, and it leads to a qualification that is recognized by the Italian Ministry of Education.

The added value of the International Baccalaureate diploma is the fact that it is also widely recognized by the world’s leading universities. After we obtained the authorization to teach the IB Diploma Programme our school adopted a new official name: “ Vittoria International School”. The IB course will be activated from the 2008/2009 academic year. Access to the course will be open also to students currently attending other secondary schools, who have passed their third year . Acceptance in the programme will depend on their performance on an aptitude test and a test to determine the level of their knowledge of English.
Students already attending the lower years at the school will be advantaged for access to the Diploma Programme, since the curriculum of the first three years of the Liceo Europeo has been modified to include much more extensive teaching and practice of English.
The curriculum is absolutely innovative both in content and methodology; all subjects (with the exception of Italian) are taught in English.

IB Curriculum

The Diploma Programme to be taught at Vittoria International School

The International Baccalaureate programme is intended to provide final year secondary students with a comprehensive course of studies, which will enable them to meet the requirements of a wide range of national education systems, and is organised into programmes and subjects that are dramatically different from traditional courses and are aimed at:

• Developing the student’s awareness of his/her intellectual skills and potential;
• Fostering awareness of the student’s personal role in the community through volunteering and participation in community events and activities;
• Developing the student’s ability and skills in language A (mother tongue) as a vehicle for reasoning, learning, debate and discussion, personal and creative expression;
• Training in scientific concepts principally through experimentation and application;
• Teaching in all subjects, with the exception of mother tongue language and literature courses, conducted in English.
• Teaching of a second modern language.

SUBJECTS

Students must study 6 subjects. They must choose one subject from each group. At least 3 subjects, but no more than 4, are to be taken at Higher Level (HL), the others at Standard Level (SL). The standard IBO International curriculum is illustrated in the hexagonal diagram below

Students enrolling in the programme for year 2008/2009 (final exam in 2010) are offered the following subjects : Group 1, Italian (Higher Level); Group 2, English (Higher Level); Group 3, Economy or History, taught in English (Standard Level); Group 4, Chemistry, in English (Standard Level); Group 5, Mathematics, in English (Standard Level); Group 6, French or Spanish (Higher Level);

Besides the six exam subjects students must a follow a taught course of 100 hours in the Theory of Knowledge, in English, complete an extended essay on an assigned theme and spend at least 150 hours during the 2 year course in CAS (Creativity Action and Service) activities under the guidance of a supervisor.

For students enrolling in 2009/2010 (final exam 2011) will be able to choose from an even wider range of subjects.

Group 1

Language A1 Italian HL

The course aims to give students a good knowledge of the varieties of literary language, both in Italian and in other languages, allowing them to approach reading with confidence and to place literary works in their context. They will also learn to produce their own texts (discursive, descriptive or argumentation) in a correct and effective style.
The course will be taught through frontal lessons, group work, viewing of documentaries and films and visits to cultural sites and art shows. Teaching aids will include the use of audiovisual and IT labs, for researching coursework materials on the Internet.
Each lesson will consist of a summary of the previous lesson or a brief revision test and presentation of new material.
At the end of each module there will be a written and oral test: the assessment criteria will be defined by the course teachers, closely following the guidelines for student evaluation provided by IBO.

Group 2

Language B English HL

This programme is aimed at meeting the needs of Italian mother tongue students learning English as a foreign language in preparation for the IB diploma. The language section of the course aims to help students to understand and to express themselves both in written and in oral English, by focusing on improving grammar, lexis and sentence structures.

The HL course will consist of 4 taught hours per week for a total of 120 hours per annum.
It is divided into 10 units of 24 hours each.
The objectives of the programmes are:

• to bring the students to the level in English in which they can communicate with ease through each of the four competences: speaking, writing, reading and listening.
• to encourage students to be aware of the importance of other cultures through the study of literary extracts and other texts as well as through social interaction.
• to use English in a variety of contexts and for a variety of purposes.
• to encourage interdisciplinary study, both between different languages as well as different subjects.
• to enable the students to use English for their future work and study.
• to encourage a personal appreciation of literature and reading in general.
• to expand students’ interest in contemporary world literature and the themes it covers

Group 3

Economics SL

The course will focus on transmitting the knowledge of the basic economic concepts and their existence and development in relation to other fields of study (history, geography, sociology, etc.). To foster the students’ understanding and analytical skills, theory will be combined with practice by guiding them in the identification and analysis of theory in real life contexts with student-centered activities based on case studies or material taken from news reports.

Internationalism will be promoted by comparing the application and effects of economic theories in different countries, thus helping students to become aware of the complex dynamics underlying the global economy and of the importance of considering these from different standpoints while maintaining an open and cooperative approach.

Assessment will take place at an external and internal level as stated in the IBO Guide. Students will also be assessed throughout the school year at the end of each topic and practice activities will be closely monitored to assess their ability to identify and critically analyze economic data.

Group 4

Chemistry SL

The Diploma Programme chemistry course will include the essential principles of the subject as well as a selection of options. Teachers will naturally be allowed to tailor their options to their students' needs, while still respecting the basic IB Programme.

To allow students to become aware of how scientists work, teachers will emphasize the practical approach through experimental work in the chemistry laboratories of the University of Turin and the use of software for chemistry. To learn how scientists communicate with each other, our students will be required to read scientific publications, to write individual and group reports of experiments and research and to exchange them with fellow students in other European schools.

As to the learning process, the teacher and the students will start from the IB textbook as the first source of information and as a stimulus for research and experiments. Subsequently, they will extend and deepen their experience through other technical and scientific resources.

Group 5

Mathematical Studies

The course is designed to build confidence and encourage an appreciation of mathematics in students who do not anticipate continuing with mathematics in their future studies. It concentrates on mathematics that can be applied to contexts related as far as possible to other subjects being studied, to common real-world events and to topics relating to home, work and leisure situations. The course includes project work: students must produce a project, a piece of written work based on personal research, guided and supervised by their teacher, possibly related to other subjects in the IB Diploma Programme.

The syllabus ensures that an approach based on first principles can be used effectively. As a consequence, students can use their own inherent, logical thinking skills and do not need to rely on standard algorithms and memorized formulae. Whenever possible, lessons will use an inquiry-based approach, starting with practical investigation, followed by analysis of results, leading to the understanding of a mathematical principle and its formulation into mathematical language.

Group 6

The Group 6 subjects are called the ‘arts and electives'. In this group, students can take any of the subjects offered in the other five groups. A common scenario occurs when students are unable to study Group 6 subjects, and must, therefore, study two subjects from any other group. This often results in students studying an extra language, a social science course, or a science course. At V.I.S, we offer French and Spanish.

Theory Of Knowledge

The Theory of Knowledge (TOK) programme is central to the educational philosophy of the International Baccalaureate. It encourages students to reflect critically on different ways of knowing and areas of knowledge; it also examines the role of knowledge in a global society. It aims to help students to become aware of themselves as thinkers; it also helps them to become aware of the complexity of knowledge and it encourages them to act responsibly in a world which is evermore interconnected.

The TOK programme is composed mainly of questions. The central question is how to discover whether a given assertion or judgment is well-grounded. Assertions or judgments of this type are known as “Knowledge claims”. The difficulties that arise in addressing this question is the broad area known as the “Problems of Knowledge”. The programme involves the application of this central question to many different, yet interconnected, topics.

CAS (Creativity, Action, Service)

CAS (Creativity, Action, Service) is one of  the three core requirements of the International Baccalaureate. Participating in the school’s CAS programme encourages students to be involved in artistic pursuits, sports and community service work, thus fostering students’ awareness and appreciation of life outside the academic arena.
As the students are the most important ones in CAS, and it's important to emphasize that they have a strong voice in the development of the CAS programme,  each student  will be invited to choose his or her activities  so they should see themselves as active in the process and they will be involved in finding solutions to meet the requirements.
Each student  will be invited to evaluate his or her activities as a preparation for the final self-evaluation at the end of the two-year.  The school will record and evaluate the student's CAS work, which will be a part of the diploma.

PHILOSOPHY: “...if you believe in something, you must not just think or talk or write, but must act” (Peterson (2003)

The IB Philosophy

The educational philosophy of the International Baccalaureate is founded on the following principles, as stated in their statute of 1996:

"Tramite un curriculum completo e bilanciato, completato da severe valutazioni, l’Organizzazione I.B. mira a sostenere le scuole nel loro impegno volto allo sviluppo dei talenti individuali dei giovani, insegnando loro a collegare le esperienze di classe con la realtà del mondo esterno. Al di là del rigore intellettuale e degli elevati standard accademici, una forte enfasi è posta sugli ideali di apertura verso il mondo internazionale e l’impegno civile, affinché gli studenti dell’I.B. possano sviluppare un atteggiamento analitico e sensibile, il desiderio di apprendere nell’arco dell’intera vita, attenti e partecipi alle vicende locali e mondiali, consapevoli dei vincoli di umanità che uniscono insieme tutte le genti, nel rispetto della varietà di culture e attitudini che arricchiscono la nostra vita."

Who can enrol in the IB Diploma course?

The IB philosophy is to accept the enrolment of any student who wishes to take part in the course, and Vittoria International School will follow this policy. However, all students must be guided by the advice of teachers regarding the choice of particular subjects and the level. Special needs students will be assessed before beginning the programme so that the school can adapt the examining procedures where necessary.

Info about IBO

Download info about the IBO here