ABSTRACT
The origins of the IB programmes and the context in which their development took place have been charted in a number of publications, including Peterson (1987 2003), Fox (1985 1998a; 1998b), Pound (2003), Sylvester (2003) and several writings by Hill (2002a, 2002b, 2002c, 2003a, 2003b, 2003c, 2003d). It is clear from reading such documentation, from conversations with those involved with the IB programmes over many years, from other forms of anecdotal evidence and from a simple observation of the numbers of schools now offering the programmes – currently over 1,400 (IBO 2004), some 35 years since the first trial examinations of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) were offered in 1969 – that the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) has satisfied a need not being catered for by other education programmes, and has persuaded schools, parents and students of its attractiveness in many different parts of the world. It would be difficult in particular to argue against the success of the now well-established IBDP, which preceded the Middle Years Programme (MYP, first offered as an IB programme in 1994) and the Primary Years Programme (PYP, first offered as an IB programme in 1997).
