History of the IB—timeline
1968—Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme was created in English and French by teachers at the International School of Geneva with increasing assistance from several other international schools. The programme that led to the awarding of the diploma consisted of a common pre-university curriculum and a common set of external examinations for students in schools throughout the world.
The Diploma Programme sought to provide students with a truly international education—an education that encouraged an understanding and appreciation of other cultures, languages and points of view. Schools that first offered the Diploma Programme were predominantly private international schools, but they included a very small number of private national institutions and schools belonging to state education departments. This has changed over the years and today around 50% of all IB World Schools belong to governments (with no tuition fees).
The following schools participated in trial examinations in 1968.
United World College of the Atlantic, Wales, United Kingdom
International School of Geneva, Switzerland
United Nations International School (UNIS), New York, US
International College, Beirut, Lebanon
Copenhagen International School, Denmark
Iranzamin International School, Teheran, Iran
North Manchester High School for Girls, United Kingdom
1980s—university recognition
Universities' acceptance, or "recognition" of the IB diploma initially came through the efforts of educational leaders and public figures such as Lord Mountbatten, John Goormaghtigh (director of the European Centre of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) and Alec Peterson (director of the Department of Educational Studies, Oxford University), who had close ties with governments.
From the early 1980s, regional offices have been promoting the IB diploma to universities and governments, with the support of IB World Schools in their areas. Some governments hesitated to grant recognition because they feared that IB World Schools would lure their most promising students away from the national educational system. However, as they came to understand that the Diploma Programme is a complement to their educational system and could help to improve national schools, they began to accept the IB diploma at a growing rate.
Today, the diploma is accepted by universities around the world, including the best universities in North America, Australia, the UK and continental Europe. The majority of Diploma Programme graduates enter higher education.
1994—Middle Years Programme and Primary Years Programme
To give younger students access to an IB education, in 1994 the IB added the Middle Years Programme (MYP), a curriculum for students aged 11 to 16, and in 1997 it adopted the Primary Years Programme (PYP) for students aged 3 to 11. These programmes were not then fully formed, but the IB has developed them so that they are now well rounded and complete. As with the Diploma Programme, the MYP and PYP seek to provide students with an international perspective and critical-thinking skills.
2008—the IB celebrates 40 years!
The date 28 October 2008 marks 40 years since the official founding of the International Baccalaureate® in 1968. A group of international school teachers from different parts of the world, led initially by teachers at the International School of Geneva, created the IB Diploma Programme from 1962 and the first official trial examinations were held in 1968.
The IB Board of Governors celebrated the 40th anniversary in Atlanta with HH the Aga Khan delivering the Peterson Lecture and a gala dinner at the home of Ambassador Ann Cox Chambers. During 2008 IB offices around the world celebrated this occasion in different ways.
