International Baccalaureate
Diploma Programme
ISM's International Baccalaureate Diploma programme is based in Moshi in our extensive campus at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. ISM was the first school in Africa to adopt the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme more than twenty-five years ago and the Diploma that it leads to has now grown to be recognised and highly valued as a university entrance qualification in universities world-wide. Building on this success, ISM added its High School Diploma course in August 1998.
The school's IB and High School Diploma Handbook is available from our Download page.
Diploma students must study THREE subjects at Higher Level (HL) and THREE subjects at Standard Level (SL) continuously over the two years of the lB diploma programme.
Subjects must be chosen from EACH of groups 1 to 5 below, and the sixth subject may be Visual Arts or a second choice from Groups 1,2,3 or 4.
Group 1
First Language |
English Al [HL or SL] or French Al [HL or SL] or Kiswahili Al [HL or SL] |
Group2
Second Language |
English B [HL or SL] or French B [HL or SL] or Swahili for beginners[SL] or Swahili B[HL or SL] |
Group 3
Individuals & Societies |
History [HL or SL] or Geography [HL or SL] or
Information Technology in a Global Society (ITGS) [HL or SL], Economics [HL or SL] |
Group 4
Experimental Sciences |
Biology [HL or SL] or Environmental Systems & Societies [SL] or Physics [HL or SL], Chemistry
[HL or SL] |
Group 5
Mathematics |
Mathematics [HL or SL] or Mathematical Studies
[SL] |
| Group 6 |
Visual Arts [HL or SL], Theatre [HL or SL] |
Note that due to timetabling limitations, certain combinations of subjects are not possible. Subjects linked by 'or' in the boxes above cannot be taken together, the same language cannot be studied at more than one level, and Economics, Chemistry and Visual Arts are taught at the same time.
Subjects on offer may vary slightly depending on demand.
If students wish to study another language other than those listed above, we will try to find a suitable teacher and will offer whatever assistance that we can. In such cases, additional costs may have to be borne by parents and the provision of a teacher cannot always be guaranteed.
Diploma Grading System
All IB diploma subjects are graded according to the following scale:
| Diploma Grade | Description |
| 7 | Excellent |
| 6 | Very Good |
| 5 | Good |
| 4 | Satisfactory |
| 3 | Weak |
| 2 | Poor |
| 1 | Very Poor |
The Extended Essay and the Theory of Knowledge course are jointly graded with a maximum of 3 points.
Diploma candidates add their points from the six subjects together with any additional points obtained from the Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge.
Students need a minimum of 24 points to obtain a Diploma and must not score a 1 or 2 in any Higher Level subject. Any grade below a 4 must be balanced by another grade above a 4 at the same level.
A score of 30 or above is considered to be good. Scores of 35 or higher are excellent.
Additional Diploma Components
All Diploma students undertake a programme in Life Skills. IB Diploma students additionally follow a course in the Theory of Knowledge and, towards the end of their first year, will start work on an Extended Essay - a research paper written in an academic discipline chosen from within the lB diploma subjects. The Creative, Active and Service (CAS) elements of the programme are considered to be essential components and full, regular participation in a supervised physical activity and Creative and Service activities is expected.
The following pdf documents are also available to download:
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Introduction to the IB Diploma