Three IB Programs From Early Years to High School
The IB Primary Years Programme begins in Pre-Kindergarten and continues through Grade 5. Learning is built around inquiry and conceptual understanding, giving children opportunities to ask questions, explore ideas across subjects and make meaningful connections. As students move through Early Years and Elementary School, the balance of independence, academic challenge and responsibility grows with them.
In Grades 6 to 10, students follow the IB Middle Years Programme. The MYP keeps learning broad while introducing increasingly complex subject knowledge and greater academic independence. Students connect their studies with real-world questions, develop Approaches to Learning skills and learn to bring ideas from different disciplines together.
In Grades 11 and 12, students who choose the full IBDP Programme undertake a rigorous two-year course of study designed to prepare them for university and further study around the world. At Stamford, the IBDP Programme is one of several senior pathways available, allowing students to make choices according to their strengths, interests and future plans.
More Than Subject Knowledge
Across all three IB programs, students are encouraged to understand how and why they learn, not simply what they need to remember.
Inquiry, reflection and international-mindedness are woven throughout the curriculum. Students learn to research independently, communicate their thinking, work with others and consider ideas from different perspectives. These skills develop progressively, from guided exploration in the Primary Years Programme to increasingly independent academic work in the MYP and IBDP Programme.
This continuity gives students a familiar approach to learning as expectations become more demanding, while still leaving room for their interests, questions and individual strengths to develop.
IB Within Stamford's Wider Curriculum
The IB is an important part of Stamford's academic framework, but it does not sit in isolation.
American academic standards provide clear expectations for subject knowledge and progression, while the IB framework shapes how students inquire, connect ideas and apply their learning. This combination runs from the Primary Years Programme through the Middle Years Programme and into High School.
In Grades 11 and 12, students can pursue the full IBDP Programme or choose an individualized pathway combining individual IB Diploma courses, Advanced Placement, BTEC and Stamford courses, while working toward Stamford's US-accredited High School Diploma.
This means the IB can remain part of a student's education without requiring every student to follow exactly the same senior pathway.
Become Part of the Stamford Community
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