Framework and content of the course

Victoria Park Academy is an International Baccalaureate (IB) PYP authorized school, and the school was officially authorized by the IB organization in July 2024.

A significant and distinctive feature of the IB Primary Years Programme is the six trans-disciplinary themes. These themes relate to issues that have meaning for, and are important to, all of us. The programme offers a balance between learning about or through the subject areas, and learning beyond them. The six themes of global significance create a transdisciplinary framework that allows students to "step up" beyond the confines of learning within subject areas:

• Who We Are
• Where We Are in Place and Time
• How We Express Ourselves
• How the World Works
• How We Organize Ourselves
• Sharing the Planet

The Taught Curriculum

The six trans-disciplinary themes help teachers to develop a programme of inquiry, in-depth investigations into important ideas, identified by the teachers, and requiring a high level of involvement on the part of the students.

The Assessed Curriculum

Assessment is an important part of each unit of inquiry as it both enhances learning and provides opportunities for students to reflect on what they know, understand and can do. The teacher's feedback to the students provides the guidance, tools and the incentive for them to become more competent, more skillful and better at understanding how to learn.

The Exhibition

Under the guidance of teachers, Year 5 students carry out an extended, collaborative inquiry project, known as the Exhibition. It represents a significant event in the life of both the school and students, synthesizing essential elements of the programme and sharing them with the school community. It is an opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the learner profile that they have been developing throughout their engagement with the programme. It is a culminating experience marking the transition from the PYP to MYP.