IB Individuals And Societies | Halcyon International School London

IB Individuals and Societies

Pupils are educated to be responsible citizens who are very well prepared for life in a multicultural and diverse society. Teachers encourage pupils to become inquisitive and give them opportunities to engage in debate or intervene with pertinent questions during teaching.

– Ofsted, 2017

Student Economics Magazine: ‘Young People’s Guide to Economics’
classroom case study

IB Economics provides a challenging academic framework that encourages students to study and question economic theory in real-world contexts. Our Grade 10 students are applying their theoretical knowledge to the seasonal publication of the online ‘Young People’s Guide To Economics’. The magazine explores economics through a different real-world focus in each volume – ranging from the economic impacts of COVID-19 to the new president’s macroeconomic policies. This guide provides support for students in younger grades who are interested in studying economics at Diploma level at SL or HL, and broadens the information that Grade 10 students have access to: they will be able to use these real-world examples in their end-of-term assessment or Diploma Programme examinations.

Curriculum

Individuals and Societies (Group 3)

Individuals and Societies is a compulsory part of the International Baccalaureate that “encourages learners to respect and understand the world around them”*. Encompassing multiple disciplines, Individuals and Societies requires students to investigate “historical, contemporary, geographical, political, social, economic, religious, technological and cultural factors that have an impact on individuals, societies and environments” in both local and global contexts.

Middle Years Programme

In the Middle Years Programme, Individuals and Societies consists of varied historical, geographical and sociological studies through which students will “learn to appreciate human and environmental commonalities and diversity” while developing “inquiry skills that lead towards conceptual understandings of the relationships between individuals, societies and the environments in which they live.”

Diploma Programme

Diploma students at Halcyon can choose History, Geography or Economics for their Group 3 studies of Individuals and Societies. Additional online courses are available on request. The Group 3 Diploma Programme curriculum enables each student to “to collect, describe and analyse data used in studies of society, to test hypotheses, and to interpret complex data” as they develop their awareness and appreciation of the diversity of human attitudes and beliefs. In the Diploma Programme, students are challenged to recognize that “the content and methodologies of their subject are contestable”: that they should take a critical, nuanced and balanced approach to the insights that they gain. Diploma Programme students may choose to study more than one Group 3 subject.

Our Individuals and Societies teachers collaboratively develop units that boost students’ subject knowledge and contextual understanding, as well as skills of data interpretation, analysis, argument and synthesis.

*Quotations are taken from the International Baccalaureate Subject Guides. Read more:
MYP Curriculum
DP Curriculum

Example work from students

Grade 10 Global Issues Conference

Our Grade 10 Geography, History and Economics students delivered presentations on the relationship between economic development and conflict in five different regions from historic, geographic, and economic perspectives – quite a feat, given that Grade 10 is the first opportunity for our students to study economics as a separate discipline. Our students took the confidence gained from these presentations forward to engage in an online web discussion with students from Rwanda on the effects of economic development.

Halcyon MUN Conference

Every year, our MUN Board of Directors host a two-day Model United Nations Conference at Halcyon, inviting local schools (state and independent) to participate. At our last conference, students made contributions to resolutions on issues ranging from violence against women to the reunification of the Korean peninsula. Having achieved so well in international Model United Nations conferences, our students are passionate about extending the benefits of reflective, analytical debate to their local peers.

Individuals and Societies Enrichment

Model United Nations

Our Model United Nations students delve into the core of international political debate. MUN students have the opportunity to attend the annual MUNISH Model United Nations trip to the Hague, where participants each represent a nation and create links with students in international schools across the world.

Debate Club

Debate Club familiarises participants with the range of concepts that underpin the British Parliamentary Style, a form of debate that takes place in the House of Commons. Learning how to carefully shape and present their arguments on topics ranging from human nature to the legal system, Debate Club also supports students in essay writing and is an impressive super-curricular for university applications.

IB Individuals and Societies Enrichment

Clubs and super-curriculars

Extra-Curriculars

– MUN Club
– Eco Committee
– Law Society
– Global Issues Conference

Explorations

– Archaeology Exploration
– Eco-Summit Exploration
– Future Entrepreneurs Exploration
– London Walks Exploration

Work Experience, University and Careers Counselling

Individuals and Societies Facilities

London Museums

Learning in London means that our students can explore the latest historical research in the city’s museums and universities. In Individuals and Societies subjects such as history, geography, and economics, our students have enjoyed learning at the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal Geographical Society, and the #HistoryinAction lectures at Queen Mary’s University. Each of these trips has allowed our students to gain further insights into their subject at a central London site close to our school.

Guest Speakers

We are pleased to have welcomed a number of visiting speakers to our campus. Our students have enjoyed learning from members of ACTSA (Action for Southern Africa), who shared advice on how to successfully launch and support movements for change in the 21st century. One of our Grade 10 Global Issues conferences was introduced by visiting speaker Werner Reich, who shared his experiences of surviving the Holocaust to highlight the harm of acting as a bystander. All of our visiting speakers have contributed unique insights to our students’ learning, and we are thankful for their contributions to school life.

Natural History Museum Trip

The Natural History Museum is a short distance from Halcyon’s campus.

Subjects at Halcyon

Individuals and Societies

We invite you to explore the full range of subject areas in the IB Middle Years Programme (IB MYP) and the IB Diploma Programme (IB DP), including language acquisition, mathematics, science, the IB core, and more. You can also review students’ subject options at both Higher Level (HL) and Standard Level (SL) in the Diploma Programme, which may help your family think about a subject combination that will provide a good foundation for a range of courses at universities and colleges around the world.