The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) provides a framework of academic challenge and life skills for students aged 11 to 16 years. The MYP provides a thorough study of various disciplines. It also accentuates the interrelatedness of them, acknowledging the role of the subject disciplines and of transdisciplinary study.

Students at this stage—early puberty to mid-adolescence—are in a particularly critical phase of personal and intellectual development. This is a time of uncertainty, sensitivity, resistance and questioning. An educational program needs to provide them with discipline, skills and challenging standards, but also with creativity and flexibility. The IB builds its program around these considerations but we are also concerned that students develop a personal value system by which to guide their own lives as thoughtful members of local communities and the larger world.

What makes the IB unique:

1. We offer a continuum of education, consisting of three programmes for students aged 3 to 19.
2. We are proud of our reputation for high-quality education sustained for over 35 years.
3. We encourage international-mindedness in IB students. To do this, we believe that students must first develop an understanding of their own cultural and national identity.
4. We encourage a positive attitude to learning by encouraging students to ask challenging questions, to critically reflect, to develop research skills, to learn how to learn and to participate in community service.
5. We ensure that our programmes are accessible to students in a wide variety of schools—national, international, public and private—through our unique relationship with IB World Schools worldwide.

Barbara Bush Middle School is a candidate school* for the Middle Years Programme. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB World School. These
are schools that share a common philosophy—a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that (this school) believes is important for our students.

*Only schools authorized by the International Baccalaureate (IB) as IB World Schools can offer any of its three academic programmes: the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP), or the IB Diploma Programme. Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorization will be granted.

For further information about the IB and its programmes, visit http://www.ibo.org.
Please visit the frequently asked questions about the MYP in North America and the Caribbean.
Read more about the IB Middle Years Programme.

The IB in the classroom

This short video helps to bring the IB mission to life by introducing the IB learner profile.

The IB thanks Southbank International School (UK) and International Community School (Georgia) for helping make this video.