PIADS authorized for IB diploma programme
PHUKET: Phuket International Academy Day School is delighted to announce it has achieved International Baccalaureate authorization to offer the International Baccalaureate’s Diploma Programme (IBDP), which will commence August 2014.
The IB Diploma is a highly regarded, globally recognised university entrance qualification, which is recognised as the “gold standard” of university entrance qualifications.
The preparation for IBDP authorization started in August 2013, when Cathy Schlei, the IB Diploma Programme coordinator at PIADS, joined PIADS to oversee the curriculum development, accreditation and implementation of the programme for the first cohort of students to begin the DP in August 2014.
Cathy has led the PIADS DP teaching team in their efforts to prepare for the DP authorization.
She remarked, “The first remarkable aspect of the verification process was the speed with which we received our authorization, which was a mere two weeks after the visit. The team was impressed with the level of our preparedness.”
In the authorization report, the IB commended the school “for demonstrating the understanding of IB philosophy by the governing body, administrative, pedagogical leadership, staff and indeed the whole school community to engage with the vision and mission.”
The school was commended for its approach to the promotion of responsible action within the curriculum through the mindful practices available to students throughout the school.
Next year the school plans to offer Thai and English Language and Literature, as well as School-supported Self-Taught Language and Literature, she said.
“We will have a range of Language Acquisition and Individuals and Societies courses, and, in addition to the usual Sciences, we will be able to offer Sports, Exercise and Health Science. This is especially opportune for students who are enrolling in the Elite Junior Sport Academies programme.”
Additionally, three levels of Mathematics will be on offer and the programme will also offer Visual and Theatre Arts courses. Moreover, a number of online DP courses will be on offer through Pamoja Education (pamojaeducation.com), an institution that “works closely with the International Baccalaureate to develop and deliver authorized online DP courses”.
“The IBDP is considered to be an academically demanding, and therefore often stressful, programme. Here at PIADS, our aim is to employ the mindfulness practices that are embedded in our school’s philosophy to help our students cope with the rigour of their course expectations,” she said.
For more information about the IBDP courses on offer, please email Cathy at catherine.schlei@pia.ac.th.
With PIADS now having received authorization for both the Primary Year’s Programme (PYP) and the DP, focus will now turn further devveloping to the Middle Year’s Programme (MYP). PIADS currently has IB candidate status for the MYP, and is hosting a visiting team from Wednesday April 30 through Friday, May 2, in order to verify the work that has been done in the MYP.
The future for PIADS is looking very bright as the school moves closer to its aspiration of being a three-programme IB World School.
PIADS is offering full and partial academic and sport scholarships to MYP 4 (grade 9) to DP 1 (grade 11) students. The next round of scholarship assessments for academic year 2014-2015 will take place on Saturday, May 17. For more information please email Daniel Magie, the Secondary School Principal, at daniel.magie@pia.ac.th.
Source: The Phuket News
