MYP
Dear Parents and Students
I am delighted to share with you that we have successfully been authorized to offer the Middle Years Programme by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO). The authorisation report recognises the communities commitment to the programme and marks the planning, preparation and implementation of the programme over the last two and half years. The 28 commendations identified in the report recognise the hard work of the KGV School community to create authentic inquiry learning opportunities for students while maintaining the rigor expected in a high performing international school curriculum.
Whilst there is plenty to celebrate in the report we know this is not the end of the journey as we have still to implement Year Nine which culminates with the Community Project. We also recognise that we have work to do in communicating more clearly around the way MYP is assessed and how we can clearly explain and describe your child’s grades. I would just like to reassure you that teachers are using the collaboration time on Monday afternoons to moderate and standardise assessments and that there is a rigorous process behind grading that uses the rubrics and criteria defined by the IBO.
Teachers assess how effectively a student is working in each objective. MYP has clear descriptions of what performance looks like at different levels of expertise.The grades reflect the students performance against specific criteria at that point in time. For example a level 4 in student in English “uses grammar, syntax and punctuation with some degree of accuracy; errors sometimes hinder communication” and a level 5 student “uses grammar, syntax and punctuation with a considerable degree of accuracy; errors do not hinder effective communication”. The rubric and the teacher feedback should help you and your child to understand what they need to do to improve. Ultimately this style of marking and feedback should prepare students to become better learners in I/GCSE and BTEC and IB Diploma courses.
Further explanation of the grading and curriculum for Year Seven and Year Eight can be found by following the links.
Please look out for opportunities to join our parent workshops in 2019 if you would like to understand more about the MYP and how you can support your child.
Best wishes
Heather Millington
Vice Principal
