What is IB?

IB stands for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, offered by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IB0), based in Geneva, Switzerland.  It is a rigorous, two year pre-university course of study that meets the needs of motivated secondary school students who have successfully completed lower secondary school. 

Our IB

The programme is made up of the core area and subjects taken from six content areas.

Core Area: Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge and Creativity, Action and Service (CAS)

Group 1: Language and Literature A – English or German

Group 2: foreign Language B or ab initio (beginner SL only) – German

Group 3: Individuals and Society: History, Global Politics, Economics or Geography

Group 4: Biology, Chemistry, or Physics

Group 5: Analysis and Approaches SL and HL, Applications and Interpretation SL and HL

Group 6: The Arts: Visual Arts or Theatre SL or a second course from Group 3 or 4

All students must complete the requirements in the core area. Students also choose three of the above subjects at Higher Level and three at Standard Level.  One course must be chosen from each area.  Students usually get their first choice for their schedules, but course and level offered may be determined by the amount of demand and course size.

Fees

Students are required to pay €1,500 for the exam fees.  This fee covers most digital textbooks and digital learning programmes which the school uses. Parents are expected to join the Friends of Nelson Mandela (our parent/student/teacher organization.  Parents join by choosing a yearly membership fee of either €60, €100, €150 or more.

German University requirement

Be careful making your schedule if you want to study in Germany!  Students must have at least one language A (native speaker) level and one at B Higher Level.  Additionally, students must have at least one HL course in either Language A, Science or Maths to fulfil German university requirements. We recommend that you contact the universities directly to see if they have any additional requirements. 

Who is IB?

Our student body truly emphasis the International in IB.  In the classes we have had in our programme since 2005, our students have come from all corners of the globe. These are only a few.

Our faculty is international as well coming from – Canada, Germany, Egypt, India, Ghana, Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa, USA and the UK – with experience teaching in even more countries.

This is one of the factors which make the IB experience very special.  Where else are you going to experience classrooms like this?  Considering the future of Europe, which continues to grow, and in view of globalization, our IB Programme offers students and families the opportunity to work within a multi-cultural context. This, of course, is a benefit to our IB students by getting them to interact with different views and cultures. The IB Programme does not stop there.  It also benefits our school and local community through CAS activities.

CAS stands for Creativity, Action and Service.  Students must take part in activities in each of these areas. This gets them involved in the extra-curricular projects and life outside of school.  A few examples of these activities are:  Model United Nations, Amnesty International, athletic clubs and various community service projects.

Student performance

The IB Diploma is one in which exams play a major role.  Approximately two-thirds of each mark on the diploma is made up from the students’ grades on the exams. This does not mean however, that the performance in the classroom is not important. Students receive report cards each semester.  The marks on the report cards and the predicted grades from the teachers do not vary significantly from the final marks after the exams. The percentage of students passing the exams is  80% world wide.  We are proud to say that we are above the global average. 

This allows our students to study at universities and Europe and the world.  Our graduates have pursued their studies in the following locations, just to name a few.

*complete information not available

The Future

We are always working to develop our programme to meet the needs of our international student body.  Due to the fact that we are a state school, this work of course depends on funding from Berlin. We are grateful for their support and look forward to continuing the relationship for many years to come.

Please contact the IB Office if you have any questions:  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.