VBU International High School

IB Diploma Programme

VBU International High School is an authorized IB World School offering the IB Diploma Programme and a part of VBU

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is a non-profit foundation that offers an internationally recognized curriculum that is available in more than 5,000 schools in 159 different countries. The IB Diploma Programme (DP) was designed by the IB and is considered the top university preparatory program (högskoleförberedande program) in the world, where you study all subjects in English.

IB Diploma Programme Subjects

Prep Year

In the first year of the program, known as the Prep Year, students follow the Swedish national high school curriculum, but all subjects are taught in English. The subjects offered are:

Swedish 1 / Swedish as a second language 1 / Swedish from the beginning
English 1
Modern Languages: German, Spanish or French
History 1b
Mathematics 1b
Civics 1b
Physical Education 1

The IB is for students who are interested in becoming civil engineers, lawyers, psychologists, business administrators, programmers, artists, real estate agents, and many other professions.

DP1 & DP2

For the second and third years of the IB DP (DP1 & DP2), students choose six subjects that follow the IB curriculum: three subjects are studied at higher level (HL: 240 teaching hours) and three are studied at standard level (SL: 150 teaching hours). Students choose one subject from subject groups 1 to 5. The sixth subject can be taken from group 6, or they can choose another subject from groups 1 to 4.

In the final year of the Diploma Programme, students sit externally assessed final exams in their chosen subjects.

Group 1: Studies in language and literature
English A: language and literature (HL, SL)
Swedish A: language and literature (HL, SL)
Language A: School-supported self-taught literature in the mother tongue (SL)

Group 2: Language acquisition
English B (HL, SL)
Swedish B (HL, SL)
Swedish ab initio (SL)

Group 3: Individuals and societies
History (HL, SL)
Philosophy (SL)

Group 4: Sciences
Biology (SL)
Chemistry (SL)
Physics (SL, HL)

Group 5: Mathematics
Mathematics: applications and interpretation (HL, SL)

Group 6: The arts
Film (HL, SL)
Or a subject from groups 1-4

DP Core

There are also three mandatory components in the IB DP: Theory of Knowledge - TOK, Extended Essay - EE, and Creativity, Activity, Service - CAS.

Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) extra curricular activities with focus on community service, creativity, and physical activity.

Theory of Knowledge (TOK) is a subject that encourages you to reflect on the nature of knowledge by critically examining the different ways of acquiring knowledge.

Extended Essay (EE) is a final essay of about 4,000 words.

For more information please contact the Head of School Marina Cicco at marina.nogueiradicicco@vbu.ludvika.se.