Keystone Magazine Learning the Keystone Way 2015-2016 EN | Page 124

A Growing Community
We are the 1000th
IB ProgramME in
Asia
Keystone Academy Receives IBDP Authorization
M
arking a
significant
milestone in
the histor y
of Keystone
Academy,
the school has officially been
accredited as an Interna-
tional Baccalaureate Diploma
Progra mme (IBD P ) s ch o ol.
Keystone is also the 1000th
IB Program in the Asia-Pacific
region. This means that start-
ing the academic year 2016-
2017, Keystone will deliver the
IBDP curriculum that includes
a whole range of subjects.
“Many of us at Keystone know
the IBDP ver y well, and we
know it to be the best pre-uni-
versity preparation anywhere.
It is especially valuable in the
Asian context, as it adds a fresh
approach to the strong tradi-
tions of learning in many of our
countries. This combination is
powerful and compelling. Our
students and teachers will be
grateful beneficiaries of the
IBDP rigor and reflectiveness,
and it is especially auspicious
for us to be the school that
makes the one thousand mark,”
remarked Head of School, Mal-
colm McKenzie.
122
Benefits of the IBDP
The IB curriculum enables an
education that is internation-
ally minded, and focuses on the
dynamic combination of knowl-
edge, skills and independent
critical and creative thought.
The end result is not only a
highly and globally regarded
high school diploma, but also
the growth and nurturing of
a person for a life of active, re-
sponsible world citizenship. The
IBDP is an ideal curricular part-
ner to the Keystone vision and
mission, which seeks to nurture
students who think and act
critically, creatively and inde-
pendently, and who also under-
stand the relationship between
rights and responsibilities while
practicing tolerance and ac-
ceptance. This is rooted in the
school’s five shared values: jus-
tice, compassion, respect, wis-
dom and honesty.
The accreditation process was
an intense two-year period with
detailed preparation, training,
and authentication from the
International Baccalaureate Or-
ganization (IBO). The final veri-
fication visit took place in mid-
March this year. The verification
process was carried out against