Cambridge state school cluster first in Europe to offer IB curriculum to all ages

Girton Glebe Primary School in Cambridge will apply for candidacy to teach the International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) to its pupils from September 2024. Together, with Impington Village College, Impington International College and The Cavendish School, it will be part of the first cluster of state schools in Europe to offer all IB programmes for children aged four to 18 across primary, secondary, sixth form and special education settings.

The school will continue to cover the requirements of the UK National Curriculum while helping its pupils to develop as active, compassionate and lifelong learners. Through the PYP, pupils will benefit from inquiry based learning, which will encourage them to ask questions and be curious about what they are learning, as opposed to traditional classroom approaches to learning.

Pupils will then have the opportunity continue their IB journey at fellow Eastern Learning Alliance school, Impington Village College, which recently became the first UK state secondary school to receive authorisation to deliver three IB programmes for pupils ages 11 to 18. Pupils can study the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) in Year 7 to 9 and, after completing mandatory GCSE examinations, pupils can continue with their IB studies at Impington International College, where they have the option to study the Diploma Programme (DP) or Career-related Programme (CP). Autistic pupils are able to study the IB at The Cavendish School.

Victoria Hearn, Executive Headteacher, Eastern Learning Alliance, said: “I am absolutely delighted to have grown our cluster of IB state schools and would like to congratulate Chris Butler and the team at Girton Glebe Primary School for beginning candidacy to deliver the PYP. I wholeheartedly believe that an IB education is the best option for students to develop the skills and knowledge required to thrive both in the classroom and in the increasingly global workplace of the future. We have been teaching the IB DP at the College for over 30 years and it brings me great joy to know that students in Cambridge are now able to follow the full IB pathway from age four to 18 – free of charge.”

Chris Butler, Headteacher at Girton Glebe Primary School, said: “As educators, we have a responsibility to provide an education that goes beyond academic achievement. Last year, the school received an excellent Ofsted report and I am excited to further build upon the breadth and ambition of our curriculum when we begin our PYP journey. With the enhancement of our curriculum, our aim is to send all pupils onto the next stage of their learning journeys as inspired, confident, life-long learners who have a desire to improve the world around them.”

Discover more about Girton Glebe Primary School and the PYP at the school’s Open Events on 19 October and 14 November: https://girtonglebe.com/curriculum/pyp/