Branksome Hall is a fully authorized IB World School offering the Primary Years Program (PYP) from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6, the Middle Years Program (MYP) for Grades 7 to 10, and the Diploma Program starting in Grade 11. Branksome is unique as an Ontario girls' school with all students, from Kindergarten through high school, taking IB programs. As of September 2007, all Grade 11 and 12 students are enrolled in the two-year Diploma Program offered in the final two years of high school.

The IBO was established in 1968 in Geneva, Switzerland, by an international association of educators who sought to create a comprehensive curriculum with consistent assessment standards adaptable to any country. Its goal was to develop truly global citizens capable of succeeding in university programs around the world. The roster of IB World Schools has grown to some 1,800 institutions in 122 countries, with over 40 schools in Ontario.

The IBO created “The IB learner profile,” which provides a set of attributes that all IB schools strive to develop in all community members. The learner profile is “a set of ideals that can inspire, motivate and focus the work of schools and teachers, uniting them in a common purpose.” All IB learners strive to be:

For more details, see the IBO website PDF : IB Learner Profile Booklet

With a coherent framework from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 12, Branksome’s IB programs are linked by four major themes:

• Inquiry and critical thinking.
• Assessment based on judging student work against clearly articulated criteria.
• Internationalism and student action.
• Differentiated teaching that meets the needs of all learners, whatever their learning styles and needs.

When our Grade 6 students graduate from the IB Primary Years Program (PYP) in the Junior School, they are adept at structuring their own inquiries, examining sources of information for bias, assessing what they have learned and what they still need to learn, and planning their next steps. They respect the viewpoints of others and have a strong sense of the issues facing the world. These students are thoroughly prepared for Grades 7 and 8, in which the IB’s Middle Years Program philosophy has become integral.

By the end of Grade 8, Branksome girls will have as many as six Grade 9 credits (“reach-ahead” credits). With the support of their advisor and guidance counselor, these young adolescents learn to balance studies, athletics, community service and creative expression as they strengthen their capacity for time management. The emphasis on inquiry-based learning, which continues throughout the Middle Years Program (Grades 7-10), culminates with a personal project during which Grade 10 students pursue a personal investigation and communicate their learning in creative ways.

Because the Diploma Program in Grades 11 and 12 is externally assessed, it provides an unequalled level of quality control over skills assessment and curriculum depth. Welcomed into the best universities world-wide, often given university credit for IB Higher Level courses, Diploma Program graduates are sought after because they are “committed, self-confident, highly organized and risk taking individuals with multi-tasking capabilities.”

If you have any questions or comments about International Baccalaureate programs at Branksome Hall, please contact Rosemary Evans, Director of Academic Studies, at (416) 920-6265, ext. 102, or by e-mail at revans@branksome.on.ca.