Language B – HL
Language B – SL
Language Ab Initio – SL
Woodstock is an IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy — a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Woodstock School believes is important for our students. For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit http://www.ibo.org
* As a transdisciplinary subject, Environmental Systems and Societies (ESS) satisfies requirements for both group 4 (the experimental sciences) and group 3 (individuals and societies). ESS students may therefore choose another subject from any of the six groups (including another group 3 or 4 subject). ESS is offered only at the Standard Level (SL).
Please note: Course availability is pending subject demand, minimum enrollments, and timetabling constraints. Students are advised to choose first and second choice subjects in each subject group.
The study of the texts produced in a language is central to an active engagement with language and culture and, by extension, to how we see and understand the world in which we live. A key aim of the language A: language and literature course is to encourage students to question the meaning generated by language and texts, which, it can be argued, is rarely straightforward and unambiguous. Helping students to focus closely on the language of the texts they study and to become aware of the role of each text’s wider context in shaping its meaning is central to the course.
Group 1 courses are designed to support future academic study by developing a high social, aesthetic and cultural literacy, as well as effective communication skills. In the language A: literature course, focus is directed towards developing an understanding of the techniques involved in literary criticism and promoting the ability to form independent literary judgments. Literature and performance allows students to combine literary analysis with the investigation of the role of performance in our understanding of dramatic literature.
The Language acquisition courses are designed to provide students with the necessary skills and intercultural understanding to enable them to communicate successfully in an environment where the language studied is spoken. This process encourages the learner to go beyond the confines of the classroom, expanding an awareness of the world and fostering respect for cultural diversity.
The Group 2 courses use a balance between approaches to learning that are teacher-centred (teacher-led activities and assessment in the classroom) and those that are learner-centred (activities designed to allow the students to take the initiative, which can also involve student participation in the evaluation of their learning). The teacher is best placed to evaluate the needs of the students and is expected to encourage both independent and collaborative learning. The two modern language courses—language ab initio and language B—develop students’ linguistic abilities through the development of receptive, productive and interactive skills (as defined in “Syllabus content”). The classical languages course focuses on the study of the language, literature and culture of the classical world.
The aims of all subjects in the Individuals & Societies are to:
The nature of science is an overarching theme in all Group 4 courses, which provides a comprehensive account of the nature of science in the 21st century. They answer the five fundamental questions that relate the words science and technology interchangeably today:
The nature of mathematics can be summarized in a number of ways: for example, it can be seen as a well defined body of knowledge, as an abstract system of ideas, or as a useful tool.
For many people it is probably a combination of these, but there is no doubt that mathematical knowledge provides an important key to understanding the world in which we live. Mathematics can enter our lives in a number of ways: we buy produce in the market, consult a timetable, read a newspaper, time a process or estimate a length.
Mathematics, for most of us, also extends into our chosen profession: visual artists need to learn about perspective; musicians need to appreciate the mathematical relationships within and between different rhythms; economists need to recognize trends in financial dealings; and engineers need to take account of stress patterns in physical materials. Scientists view mathematics as a language that is central to our understanding of events that occur in the natural world. Some people enjoy the challenges offered by the logical methods of mathematics and the adventure in reason that mathematical proof has to offer. Others appreciate mathematics as an aesthetic experience or even as a cornerstone of philosophy. This prevalence of mathematics in our lives, with all its interdisciplinary connections, provides a clear and sufficient rationale for making the study of this subject compulsory for students studying the full diploma.
Through studying any of the Group 6 subjects, the arts, students become aware of how artists work and communicate. The aims of all subjects in Group 6 are to enable students to:
The following documents can help you choose the right courses depending on which subjects students are considering studying at university or college.
To prevent unnecessary pressure on their well-being, Indian students preparing for medical study within India are ineligible to earn the full IB Diploma while at Woodstock. Instead, we offer an alternative pathway to enable Indian students enrolled at Woodstock to pursue medicine. Find out more about the alternative pathway for students who are considering studying medicine in India.