For the IBCP option students undertake IB Subject options, Level 3 qualifications and a core that includes a Reflective Project and Personal and Professional Studies Course. These courses not only prepare students for the working world but are also valued by universities. The chance to study subjects at Level 3 that the student sees as relevant to future careers is just one exciting aspect of the IBCP qualification. Studying 2 or more world recognised IB academic subjects adds a rigour that has long set the IB qualifications out as excellent.
The Reflective project offers the chance to explore a topic of their choice in depth including research and presentation. Meanwhile the Personal and Professional Studies course gives an excellent foundation for self-reflection and skills such as interview and ethical questions. For these reasons it offers skills perfect for university entry.
IBCP courses
- Level 3 Computer Science
- Level 3 Criminology
- Level 3 Food Science and Nutriton
IB courses
- Global Politics
- Business Management
- Literature and Language
- Environmental Systems and Societie
It’s your future – do it your way.
In an ever-changing world of work, students may need more flexibility in post-16 courses. Mount House Sixth Form is a candidate school for IB Career-related programme* to be offered alongside our A Level courses. Exactly what does this dual pathway offer our Sixth Formers?
Why study IBCP?
Whenever I ask employers, or indeed parents, what they really want to see from those leaving a Sixth Form, it is invariably skills that are mentioned. The ability to think for themselves, to communicate, to work both collaboratively and independently, to be agile in their knowledge, and to be open-minded in approach. In what is a complex and ever developing workplace and world, the focus of many of the traditional academic subjects may not always allow a student to excel and be credited for their intelligence and ability beyond the confines of those purely examination-based qualifications. It is with this in mind that Mount House Sixth Form will be offering the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme (IBCP) alongside our A Level pathway.
How does the IBCP offer a relevant and rigorous pathway?
In essence, IBCP is about as flexible a qualification as there is, able to be built around the student and made as challenging as each individual desires. More on the makeup of the IBCP components below, but what is central to this curriculum is that it develops students for university study and employment so they are community and globally aware, armed with self-confidence, have accomplished personal and professional skills, and are able to make ethical decisions. It’s recognised by leading UK Universities, US Colleges and further education institutes globally.
There are three key components to the course:
- The career-related study – the area of vocational focus that provides the subject-specific depth they may need for their next steps.
- Two (or more) IB Diploma subjects – students can opt for subjects from the IB Diploma with the academic rigour to provide a depth and breadth of knowledge for university entry. Traditional options such as English Literature or Mathematics may appeal, or maybe sciences including Environmental Studies can be chosen. It may be globally relevant and academic subjects such as Global Politics or Business Management are the challenge wanted.
- The IBCP core – here students are credited for their development of skills through the Personal and Professional Studies course. They develop their community approach through credited Service-Learning, individual research techniques are developed through the Reflective Project, whilst an appreciation of culture is harnessed in a language development module.
This combination of elements allows the IBCP to offer an incredibly flexible programme. Those that have a known focus, or perhaps struggle with in-depth academic work can opt for just two diploma subjects alongside their career-related study, and once more take those at the “standard level”. The skills and focus developed would be a perfect step into apprenticeships or similar workplace-based steps. Those aiming for a more rigorous academic programme can take more subjects and also opt to study them at “higher level”, giving them access to the top universities in the country and beyond. At Mount House our motto is “Inspiring Every Individual” and the flexibility for each student that this offers, as well as the challenge the qualification provides, really does nurture that sentiment.
Inspiring Every Individual
The key pillar of a Mount House education is the individual approach we can offer students. The IBCP allows us to build on this ethos with a pathway that gives some students a learning experience and qualification that is more relevant to their needs. The International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) is a gold standard in education, recognised across the world with over 5450 IB World Schools across 153 countries. The IB champions holistic education and critical thinking. Indeed, since its creation in 1968, the IB’s qualification has remained a constant light of educational sense and development. Its value and credibility are unaffected by grade inflation. It continues to instil in students qualities that will remain with them for life rather than simply equipping them with the more limited range of skills required to get through a set of exams. The development of the IBCP as part of this educational picture emphasises that education can take different paths and that relevant skills and critical thinking that are needed to navigate our complex world are as equally important as the depth of academic rigour studied. At Mount House, and with the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme, learning is for life beyond lessons.
IBCP and A Levels – both pathways are offered at Mount House.
The IBCP will give Mount House Sixth Formers an option that differs to A Levels in the approach to aspects of teaching and learning, whilst offering an excellent springboard for next steps be that Russell Group university entry, apprenticeships or the world of work. The Career-related Programme has four clear aims for students:
- To prepare for work in a knowledge society
- To prepare for the future
- To provide a locally relevant education
- To bridge the ‘academic vs vocational’ divide.
Skills beyond exams
The IB’s globally recognised excellence in education is based on its structure to foster all-round, as well as academic, development. IBCP courses are taught with the IB Learner Profile in mind. The Learner Profile is a set of guiding principles which motivate and inspire students.
Therefore, our Sixth Formers will aspire to be:
- Inquirers
- Knowledgeable
- Thinkers
- Communicators
- Principled
- Open-minded
- Caring
- Risk-takers
- Balanced
- Reflective
If an open-minded, individual, and worldly-relevant Sixth Form option appeals to you, then the IBCP is the next step in your life-long education.
We welcome anyone who is keen to come to visit the school to explore both the IBCP and A Level pathway we offer. Please contact the Admissions department at the school to find out more.
Mount House School is a Candidate School* for the Career Related Programme (CP). This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that [School Name] believes is important for our students.
*Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme, or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit www.ibo.org
