IB Diary

Here we hope to keep an occasional diary demonstrating our progress as an IB World School...

IB TRIP TO THE GAMBIA - January 2011

Four students from the Year 12 IB group, together with others from Plymouth College, made their way to Gambia.

They were met with the most amazing welcome consisting of what felt like hundreds of children after their attention, and many more warm welcomes were received from the rest of the community.  After a weekend of getting to know the locals and exploring the nearby villages and the local cultures they set about trying to make a difference in the local school.

Every morning they walked with the children a mile and a half into the school where they split up to go into their separate classrooms. The students said ‘it was very frustrating trying to teach them because most of them did not really understand English and so did not pick up what you were saying.'  The students felt four days of teaching was not really enough to make a difference but too long to observe. Despite this the teachers at the school were very grateful for the much needed help and will hopefully be keeping in touch with the students to carry on this support the students are very keen to do this as they felt that many of the problems in the education system are down to unmotivated teachers as they are paid poorly (the equivalent of £40 a month) and are often relocated to poor accommodation far from their families.

In the afternoons the students were free to observe and help out in the health centre, make bricks and help with small building projects, try out some of the local cuisine or take a much-needed siesta. Whereas the evenings where full of camp fires, Chinese green tea (a relaxing social activity in Gambia), TOK (theory of knowledge) CAS and first aid lessons. 

They had an amazing week and gained some experiences they will never forget, including the bucket showers, going to the toilet in a hole! and of course the huge cultural experience.  Following the trip the two colleges have decided to sponsor a boy to study medicine at a university within The Gambia. His course only costs £250 but without our support he would have never been able to raise these funds.  In the next month or so the students will be organising some fundraising events to raise the money.

 

IB TRIP TO THE GAMBIA - March 2010

Four of our Year 12 IB students and one A Level student visited The Gambia as part of a joint IB trip with Plymouth College.  It was a truly memorable trip for all concerned.

They spent time teaching in two African village schools as part of their CAS work and in the evenings around a campfire they worked on their Theory of Knowledge studies.

‘The whole trip was amazing, but I think it was definitely the people out there that you meet, that made it so special and enjoyable. Everyone was so generous, kind and welcoming.'  Isobel Taylor

IB VISITOR

In September 2009 a former IB student, James Symes, visited Callington Community College to talk to the IB students in their Theory of Knowledge class.

 

IB TASTER DAY FOR YEAR 11 STUDENTS - 30th September 2009

A group of Year 11 students spent a day at the coast to give them a flavour of what the International Baccalaureate is all about.

 

IB CAS PILOT PROJECT July 2nd and 3rd 2009, National Trust, Beach Head,  Wadebridge. 

Our International Baccalaureate students' first residential trip was part of a CAS (Creative Action and Service) pilot project organised by Nicole De St Croix to do some volunteering work for the National Trust.

As part of their course the IB students need to participate in a number of volunteering activities and so this trip had been designed to give them a taste of the kinds of things they can do for CAS. Huw Pring, the IB Geography teacher, worked with the students litter picking on the local beaches, and several bags of rubbish were collected.

Debs Kemp, IB Coordinator