The Curriculum

The International Baccalaureate

When the International Baccalaureate Organisation authorised Sherborne to offer its Diploma Programme, we were delighted to join its select group of World Schools, now numbering just over 90 in the United Kingdom. We are attracted both by the high academic standards that the IBO maintains and by the all-round education that the Diploma Programme represents. The principles on which it is founded are closely reflected in the values that we cherish at Sherborne and in the rich and varied experience that our boarding environment provides. Two elements which lie at the core of the International Baccalaureate, Theory of Knowledge and CAS (Creativity, Action and Service), both help to explain its appeal: the first of these teaches the individual to evaluate critically what is presented to him as true, whilst the second emphasises the importance of learning through artistic expression and exercise of the imagination, through involvement in sport and a wide range of other activities, and through service to the community.  Academic rigour thus forms part of an education which seeks to develop and draw out the best from the whole person.

Among the schools offering the Diploma Programme, Sherborne has a distinctive contribution to make.  One of the principal characteristics of
the IB is the range of subjects that every student has the opportunity to tackle. Sherborne’s programme in itself is a broad one, but in collaboration with Sherborne School for Girls we have been able from the outset to provide a wide choice of subjects which students will find very appealing.  The two schools have collaborated in areas of our sixth-form teaching for some years and, in offering the Diploma Programme, we
shall continue to provide “the best of both worlds”.

High academic standards, learning to work independently, the development of initiative and powers of analysis, an emphasis on internationalism and on the ability to relate to points of view which may seem very different from our own; this is indeed an education which prepares an individual for the world’s challenges. The International Baccalaureate will enrich Sherborne and those who teach and study here and we view the future with excitement.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme at Sherborne

The experience offered by the core of the Diploma Programme will be challenging and stimulating:  in tackling the Extended Essay students will be able to draw on the expertise and knowledge which the school staff can offer across a wide range of academic areas; the Theory of Knowledge course is original and intellectually exciting; and Sherborne offers an extremely broad range of activities which can be undertaken in order to fulfil the CAS requirement.

Within the Diploma Programme, in addition to these core elements, every student must study one subject from each of groups 1 to 5 as shown below in the hexagon, together with one other subject drawn either from Group 6 or from one of groups 2, 3 and 4.

The subjects that we shall be offering in 2007-9 at Sherborne, in collaboration with Sherborne School for Girls, are:

Group 1 - English
Group 2 – French, German, Spanish, Mandarin (ab initio), Latin
Group 3 - Business and Management, Geography, History, Philosophy
Group 4 – Biology, Chemistry, Physics
Group 5 - Mathematics – Higher Level; Mathematics – Standard Level;
Mathematical Studies (this course is best suited to those who do not consider Mathematics to be a strength)
Group 6 – Music, Visual Arts

To download a pdf brochure giving more details click here.
For further information on our programme, please contact:

The Director of IB
Dr Peter Such
by e-mail at pts@sherborne.org
or by ringing 01935 810512