IB MIDDLE YEARS PROGRAMME
A PERSONAL AND INTELLECTUAL JOURNEY
IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) allows students to build on their personal strengths and to embrace challenges in subjects in which they might not excel. The MYP offers students opportunities to develop their potential, explore their own learning preferences, take appropriate risks, and develop a strong sense of personal identity.
GREADES 6-10
BWYA offers the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) to students in Grades 6 to 10. At a time when students are establishing their identity and building their self-esteem, the MYP can motivate students and help them to achieve success in school and in life beyond the classroom. It is designed to help the students develop the knowledge, conceptual understanding, attitudes and skills necessary to actively participate in both the local and the global communities.
In the MYP, learning how to learn and how to critically evaluate information is equally as important as learning facts. It is with this in mind that the MYP has been designed with students studying concept-driven subjects from 8 subject groups, as well as the core areas – Service as Action, Community/Personal Project, Inter-disciplinary Learning, and Approaches to Learning.
IB LEARNER PROFILE
We use the IB Learner Profile across our entire school. We value these 10 attributes highly and strive to help all students achieve each of them whilst here at BWYA. Hover over the images for more information.
IB LEARNER PROFILE
We use the IB Learner Profile across our entire school. We value these 10 attributes highly and strive to help all students achieve each of them whilst here at BWYA. Click the images for more information.
SUBJECT GROUPS
Language and Literature
MYP language and literature equips students with linguistic, analytical and communicative skills. They develop critical, creative and personal approaches to studying and analysing literary and non-literary texts.
Language Acquisition
This subject aims to develop a respect for, and understanding of, other languages and cultures and is designed to equip the student with a skills base to facilitate further language learning. Students are phased from emergent (phase 1 and 2), capable (phase 3 and 4) to proficient (phase 5) levels.
Individuals and Societies
This subject encourages learners to respect and understand the world around them and equips them with the necessary skills to inquire into historical, contemporary, geographical, political, social, economic, religious, technological and cultural factors that have an impact on individuals, societies and environments.
Sciences
With inquiry at the core, the MYP sciences framework aims to guide students to independently and collaboratively investigate issues through research, observation and experimentation.
Mathematics
Students will see authentic examples of how mathematics is useful and relevant to their lives and be encouraged to apply it to new situations. Learning MYP mathematics should be more than simply learning formulae or rules.
Arts
In MYP arts students have opportunities to function as artists, as well as learners of the arts. Students develop through creating, performing, and presenting arts in ways that engage and convey feelings and experiences by rotation.
Physical and Health Education
It empowers students to understand and appreciate the value of being physically active and develop the motivation for making healthy life choices. To this end, this course fosters the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes that will contribute to a student’s balanced and healthy lifestyle, with a focus on both learning about and learning through physical activity.
Design
Students need to apply practical and creative thinking skills to solve design problems; Inquiry and problem-solving are at the heart of the subject group. It requires the use of the design cycle as a tool. Students learn from Product Design and Digital Design subjects.
ADDITIONAL COURSE DETAILS
CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING
Students gradually work towards a deepening of their conceptual understanding as they approach concepts from a range of perspectives. The concept-driven curriculum frameworks of the MYP help learners to co-construct meaning as they become increasingly competent critical and creative thinkers, able to transfer knowledge and take responsibility for their own learning.
LEARNING AND TEACHING IN CONTEXT
In the MYP, learning contexts are (or model) authentic world settings, events and circumstances. MYP students study subjects from eight subject groups within these six global contexts.
- Identities and relationships
- Orientation in time and space
- Personal and cultural expression
- Scientific and technical innovation
- Globalisation and sustainability
- Fairness and development
APPROACHES TO LEARNING
Through Approaches to Learning (ATL), students in the Middle Years Programme (MYP) cultivate essential skills that enhance their ability to learn effectively. ATL fosters self-awareness and lifelong learning competencies, equipping students to meet MYP challenges and excel in future academic programmes such as the Diploma Programme. The five ATL skill categories are communication, social, self-management, research, and thinking.
SERVICE AS ACTION
To “learn why we learn”. Service requires that students are able to build authentic connections between what they learn in the classroom and what they encounter in the community. When connected to classroom learning, the experience of service offers opportunities to apply concepts, skills and knowledge. Students explore the community in its complexity as they gain personal insight and become more confident and responsible. Through service as action, they become “actors” in the “real world” beyond school.
INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING UNIT
BWYA MYP students engage in at least one interdisciplinary learning unit (IDU) annually, with formal assessments reported to parents and students. Interdisciplinary learning aims to foster understanding by integrating concepts and methods from multiple disciplines. Students showcase this understanding by effectively combining knowledge to explain phenomena, solve problems, create products, or pose new questions that single disciplines may not address.
PERSONAL PROJECT AND COMMUNITY PROJECT
The BWYA MYP culminates in two key projects: the Community Project (CP) for grade 8 and the Personal Project (PP) for grade 10, both assessed using IB criteria. The CP helps students identify and address community needs through service learning, while the PP allows students to enhance their ATL skills, explore personal interests, and showcase their creativity, demonstrating their overall learning in the MYP. Both projects are reported to parents and students.
