the real world
The primary school stage is a constant challenge for students. One of the basic principles during this stage is to learn how to resolve actual problems and acquire the abilities and knowledge to resolve ones which they will face when adult. At the I.B. all learning has to be, by necessity, connected to reality. 50% of classes are carried out in English and the rest equally carried out in Catalan and Spanish.
THE I.B. PRIMARY YEARS PROGRAMME (P.Y.P.)
The P.Y.P. (Primary Years Programme) readies the students to be lively, supportive and to adopt a spirit of learning throughout their lives so that they show respect for themselves and others as well as being able to take full part in the world around them. It focuses on the holistic development of the infant and their ability to probe and discover, both inside and outside the classroom. Infants aged 3 to 12 learn while motivated by constant discovery and by taking responsibility for their own learning.
The programme consists of six inter-disciplinary themes which emanate from six disciplines:
- – Language
- – Mathematics
- – Science
- – Social studies
- – Personal, social and physical education
The cross-curricular themes are the distinguishing feature of the I.B. programmes. These allow the student to overcome the traditional limitations imposed on learning by subjects; discovering who we are, where we are in space and time, how we express ourselves, how the world works, how we organise ourselves and how we share our planet.
In Primary Years stage in addition to the use of English as a vehicular language in different subjects, a few hours are added to study English in all its areas of linguistic competence: comprehension and oral expression, comprehension and written expression, writing, grammar and vocabulary.
To ensure that the students are making the right progress, from an early age, from 7 to 10 years old we work internally to prepare and test students for the University of Cambridge official examinations. These are known as "Young learners" and are distributed in three levels: Starters, Movers and Flyers. These exams evaluate students in different competencies orally to prepare them for future Main Suite exams (FCE, CAE, CPE), required qualifications in any job nowadays.
In the upper cycle of Primary Education we prepare students for the "for Schools" examinations (KET, PET equivalent to A1 and A2 levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). We are proud to say that our students obtain these certificates with optimal results in the official examination year after year.
Active participation, mastery of languages and the relationship with environments outside school are some of the features which are most worked on at this stage. The final aim is to mould students who are able to resolve actual problems in different contexts.
Classes become forums where ideas are debated and problems resolved fomenting their own self-esteem as well as the understanding and development of solutions. It is the age to begin to reason. Furthermore at the school we strive so that the children may place their individual interests at the group's disposal.
Cross-curricular and inter-disciplinary work helps us to create the right atmosphere for all this to occur. Literature, geography, history, writing and arts are combined with mathematics, geometry and science to resolve the challenges formulated to the group.
Capable and competent students who are able to resolve all kinds of situations.
PRIMARY BASIC COMPETENCES (DOCUMENT 2009 TO 2011)
PRIMARY AND COMPARATIVE EVALUATION TESTS