The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is the most academically rigorous program offered at South Lakes, but many students do not understand what being in the program really entails. So the question is posed: what is it really like being an IB Diploma candidate at South Lakes?

The IB Diploma is not an advanced version of the regular high school diploma but rather an additional diploma. You begin working towards the diploma in junior year and continue it through graduation. To get the diploma, you are required to take some Standard Level (SL) and some Higher Level (HL) classes, Theory of Knowledge (TOK), and IB exams, or basically final exams. You will also be required to write an Extended Essay (EE), Internal Assessments (IAs), and complete 150 Creativity, Activity, and Service (CAS) hours. 

SL and HL are the different difficulty levels of the courses you would normally take. TOK is a class that is taken for one semester in both years and teaches subjects like objectivity, perspective, and values in multiple contexts. The EE is a 1600 word essay on a topic of choice and will be written over the two years. CAS hours are simple activity hours, though a CAS project is required which is a project based in a CAS activity, and IAs are papers on a topic related to the course that are graded internally as opposed to by the IB Organization. These different components take time and energy and demand good management skills to complete before their deadlines. The IB has a large focus on writing, all the IAs are long, written projects, the EE is a long essay, and most IB related activities will require an essay or reflective writing like the TOK essay or the EE reflections. An IBDP student will find themself writing a lot on most assignments but especially for IB required work.

So what is an average day like? Coursework alone is enough to keep busy everyday and IAs will add to that as they are not usually worked on in class. To meet the CAS hour requirements, three to four hours of activities every week with occasional extras is about as much as necessary. An average school day may go until five or six to attend activities, meet with teachers, and complete coursework. Weekends are valuable, that time can be used to recharge, get ahead, or both. Managing time to complete coursework and get good grades while also consistently participating in extracurricular activities as well as finishing extra work like the EE or the CAS project is demanding, making the IB diploma a very attractive prospect to anyone who hopes to aim high.