Since 2009, Chelmsford County High School for Girls has been offering the International Baccalaureate
Diploma Programme as an alternative to A levels in the Sixth Form.

The IB Diploma has been running worldwide for more than forty years and has a considerable track record as an academically challenging and wide-ranging course of study. It is currently delivered by 2311 schools worldwide; 218 of them in the United Kingdom.

For a general overview of the IB Organisation, please visit the International Baccalaureate website.

Chelmsford County High School offers the IB Diploma Programme for a number of reasons:

• The IB Diploma has an excellent record of promoting high quality education, reflective learning and of enabling students to develop a wide range of talents and aptitudes.
• The aims of the IB Diploma, as summarised in the IB Learner Profile make an excellent fit with the aims and vision of Chelmsford County High School. We are excited by the range and depth of the courses on offer and by the ways in which the programme develops both international mindedness and the development of balanced, thoughtful and humane individuals.
• The IB Diploma offers a broader programme of study than the A Level Curriculum; students study six subjects in addition to the compulsory ‘core’ which is studied by all students. The Diploma therefore appeals particularly to students (like many of those who have excelled at CCHS over the years) who are interested in and successful in a wide range of subjects. Students must choose one subject from each of the following groups. Subjects are generally available at both higher and standard level; each student will study six subjects at higher level and six subjects at standard level:

Group 1 – English Literature

Group 2 – A foreign language

Group 3 – A humanity

Group 4 – A science subject

Group 5 – Mathematics

Group 6 – An Arts subject, or a second subject from each of groups 2, 3 or 4.

More details on the subjects currently offered can be found in the IB Subjects Booklet.

• The ‘core’ of the IB Diploma offers students an excellent opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge beyond the confines of their subjects and to develop many of the skills and aptitudes that will be vital to success at university and thereafter.

• The ‘core’ comprises three elements:

Theory of Knowledge This is a course of study which helps students to reflect on the ways in which they study their subjects and on the nature of those subjects.
Creativity, Action and Service All students of the IB Diploma are required to complete 150 hours of ‘non-academic’ activities across the two years of their Sixth Form study.
The Extended Essay All students are required to write a 4000 word essay based on their own research on a subject that is of interest to them. Working closely with a member of staff they relish the opportunity to become really involved in one of their subjects at a high academic level and to experience the excitement and discipline of research.

• Finally, the IB Diploma Programme offers excellent preparation for success at university level and beyond. The combination of breadth and depth and the values which the course helps to instill mean that IB students are sought after by leading universities and research shows that they have an excellent track record of success at those universities. More details on this research can be found on the IB website.

The provision of the IB Diploma Programme is an important part of the future of Chelmsford County High School. We are working together with a number of more experienced IB schools and with IBSCA, the association of IB schools in the UK to ensure that the programme develops successfully as an alternative to the A level provision in which the school has been successful for many years.