The International Baccalaureate Organization is a non-profit organization founded in Geneva in 1968 by a group of progressive and talented teachers who were looking for a different, more international approach to teaching and development. The internationally recognized qualification granted by the IBO was created with particular attention to preparing international students for the new competitive, globalized and multicultural world that confronts them. St Stephen's offering IB in Rome since 1978.
St. Stephen's offers the IB Diploma Program, a 2 year curriculum for 11th and 12th years, as a continuation of the international education we offer in lower grades. Its balanced and rigorous curriculum builds principled, intelligent contributors to society while its global reputation ensures that our internationally mobile students are well poised to continue their education, wherever in the world this might take them.
Students are required to take 6 separate subjects, one from each of 6 specialized groups that are divided along faculty lines. At St Stephens these are:
- First Language
- Second Language
- Humanities
- Sciences
- Mathematics
- Arts
Nearly all courses last for the whole 2 years and all involve substantial coursework that culminates in the final examinations of Year 12.
The diverse, international and progressive nature of the school and its students is reflected in the subject offerings. Alongside our commitment to English language education, we at St. Stephen's support a wide variety of first and second languages. Furthermore, while courses such as Environmental Systems and Societies reflect the global awareness we encourage in our students, at the same time courses such as Art History bring our students much closer to what is directly around them, in the historical heart of Rome.
The ‘Hexagon’, or 6 classes that the students will be required to select, is underpinned by three cross-curricular structured programs. These are Theory of Knowledge (ToK), Creativity - Action - Service (CAS) and the Extended Essay. These elements combined with the broad curriculum are aimed at providing a cohesive and self-aware learning process whose scope does not end at the classroom door.
