As South Australia’s first school to offer the International Baccalaureate, Pembroke is determined to help shape a hopeful future through global learning.

The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (IB PYP) is a respected curriculum framework harnessed in hundreds of schools around the world. It centres around the recognition of a child’s natural curiosity, creativity and ability to reflect, and is underpinned by inquiry-based learning experiences that engage children in critical and creative thinking. The IB PYP is transdisciplinary, meaning students learn across subject areas while inquiring into big ideas. They are encouraged to develop a strong sense of the world around them and their ongoing responsibility to it.

Learners explore significant concepts through units of inquiry which authentically interweave ideas and skills from relevant subject areas such as:

• Language
• Social Studies
• Mathematics
• Arts
• Science
• Personal, Social and Physical Education

At Pembroke, students from Years 1 to 6 delve into six different units of inquiry each year while ELC and Reception students explore four. Each unit is organised under a transdisciplinary theme to bridge the boundaries of traditional subject disciplines which are more developmentally appropriate for middle and senior school students. The transdisciplinary themes are:

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

Each transdisciplinary theme has a central idea, lines of inquiry and focus concepts, questions and attitudes. The knowledge and skills articulated in the Australian Curriculum are mapped across the units of inquiry and exposed in a meaningful context.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP) is an internationally acclaimed and recognised pre-university qualification that provides an alternative to the SACE. It offers a rigorous and challenging academic curriculum which prepares students for effective participation in a rapidly evolving global society.

The IB DP ensures students acquire both breadth and depth of knowledge and understanding as they study courses from six subject groups. This includes the study of their own and another language, thus increasing students’ understanding of cultures, including their own. Students also study Mathematics as well as courses from the Sciences, Humanities and The Arts. Most subjects may be taken at either standard level (SL) or higher level (HL).

In addition, students learn to make connections across the academic disciplines and explore the nature of knowledge through the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course. They undertake in-depth research into an area of interest in the Extended Essay (EE), and enhance their personal and interpersonal development through their own program of Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS).

The IB DP aims to shape young people who are self-motivated and intellectually curious with proven ability in a range of academic fields as well as being creative, active and compassionate members of our society. IB students acquire the skills and attitudes towards learning which will support them to achieve in higher education and become lifelong learners. They are invariably involved in many community and school activities and are interested in making a difference in their community and the world at large.

To view IB subjects at Pembroke, click here