International Baccalaureate (IB Diploma) Philippines

Why Study IB in Southville?

Southville International School and Colleges is a proud IB World School since August 2005. It is one of 21 schools in the Philippines offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.

“The Diploma Programme (DP) provides a challenging, internationally focused, broad, and balanced educational experience for students aged 16 to 19. Students are required to study six subjects and a curriculum core concurrently over two years. The programme is designed to equip students with the basic academic skills needed for university study, further education, and their chosen profession. Additionally, the programme supports the development of the values and life skills needed to live a fulfilled and purposeful life.” (Diploma Programme: From principles to practice, 2015).

Graduating IBDP Students Get Accepted into Top Universities Worldwide

SOUTHVILLE Wins BACK-to-BACK in YALE UNIVERSITY

King’s College London welcomes Southville’s Alumna, Isabelle Young

ALUMNUS, TOPNOTCHER Atty. Sean Borja Talks About His Significant Foundation at Southville

Overview

The Southville Basic Education Division is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (W.A.S.C.), U.S.A and is an authorized IB World School (Geneva, Switzerland). Southville is home to celebrated personalities, medical practitioners, entrepreneurs, and community leaders, among others Our graduates attend IVY League Schools like Harvard University. Southville is the training ground of future Business Technocrats and World Leaders, anchored on the school’s 5Cs Curriculum.

Curriculum

The Core

1. Theory of Knowledge
Students reflect on the nature of knowledge and on how we know what we claim to know.

2. Extended Essay
It is an independent, self-directed piece of research, finishing with a 4,000-word paper.

3. Creativity, activity, service

Students complete a project related to those three concepts.

Source: www.ibo.org

Group 1: Studies in Language and Literature

English A Language and Literature

This course aims at studying the complex and dynamic nature of language and exploring both its practical and aesthetic dimensions. It will explore the crucial role language plays in communication, reflecting experience and shaping the world, and the roles of individuals themselves as producers of language.

Korean A Literature

This course aims at exploring the various manifestations of literature as a particularly powerful mode of writing across cultures and throughout history. It aims at developing an understanding of factors that contribute to the production and reception of literature—the creativity of writers and readers, the nature of their interaction with their respective contexts and with literary tradition, the ways in which language can give rise to meaning and/or effect, and the performative and transformative potential of literary creation and response.

Group 2: Language Acquisition

English B

This course is designed for students with some previous experience of the target language. Students further develop their ability to communicate through the study of language, themes and texts. There are five prescribed themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organization and sharing the planet.

Language ab initio

French ab initio
Mandarin ab initio

This course is designed for students with no previous experience in—or very little exposure to—the target language. It aims to develop the student’s receptive, productive and interactive skills while learning to communicate in the target language in familiar and unfamiliar contexts.

Group 3: Individuals and societies

Business Management

This course aims to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of business management theories, as well as their ability to apply a range of tools and techniques. Students learn to analyze, discuss and evaluate business activities at local, national, and international levels.

History

This is a world history course based on a comparative and multi-perspective approach to history. It involves the study of a variety of types of history, including political, economic, social, and cultural, and provides a balance of structure and flexibility.

Psychology

This course is an introduction to three different approaches to understanding behavior: the biological, cognitive, and sociocultural approaches. Students study and critically evaluate the knowledge, concepts, theories, and research that have developed their understanding in these fields.

Economics

Group 4: Sciences

Biology

Chemistry

Physics

Computer Science

This course helps students become aware of how scientists work and communicate with each other. While the scientific method may take on a wide variety of forms, it is the emphasis on a practical approach through experimental work that characterizes the sciences. Teachers provide students with opportunities to design investigations, collect data, develop manipulative skills, analyse results, collaborate with peers and evaluate and communicate their findings.

Group 5: Mathematics

Mathematics: analysis and approaches

This course recognizes the need for analytical expertise in a world where innovation is increasingly dependent on a deep understanding of mathematics. The focus is on developing important mathematical concepts in a comprehensible, coherent and rigorous way, achieved by a carefully balanced approach.

Mathematics: applications and interpretation

This course recognizes the increasing role that mathematics and technology play in a diverse range of fields in a data-rich world. As such, it emphasizes the meaning of mathematics in context by focusing on topics that are often used as applications or in mathematical modelling.

Group 6: The Arts

Theatre

This course gives students the opportunity to actively engage in theatre as creators, designers, directors, and performers. It emphasizes working both individually and collaboratively as part of an ensemble.

Visual arts

This course encourages students to challenge their own creative and cultural expectations and boundaries. It develops students’ analytical skills in problem-solving and divergent thinking while working towards technical proficiency and confidence as art-makers. In addition to exploring and comparing visual arts from different perspectives and in different contexts, students are expected to engage in, experiment with, and critically reflect upon a wide range of contemporary practices and media.

source: www.ibo.org

Mission Statement

The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end, the organization works with schools, governments, and international organizations to develop challenging programs of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE: SISC IB PROGRAMME

This year, Southville International School and Colleges proudly marks the 20th anniversary of its International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme—two decades of shaping learners who embody the IB Learner Profile and Southville’s 5Cs: Character, Competence, Commitment to Achieve, Collaboration, and Creativity & Innovation.

From its early years, the Southville IB Programme has stood out among IB schools in the Philippines for consistently delivering results above the global average. This distinction reflects not only academic excellence but also the character and commitment of our Monarchs, who approach challenges with resilience, integrity, and a passion for lifelong learning.

In the most recent academic year, our students reached new heights as two Monarchs distinguished themselves among the top achievers in the IB Diploma Programme in Manila, earning scores of 44/45 and 43/45—outcomes that speak to their competence and intellectual discipline.

Yet beyond the numbers, our graduates carry with them the hallmarks of inquiring minds, principled leadership, and open-minded collaboration—qualities central to the IB Learner Profile. Their readiness to embrace multiple perspectives and act with compassion equips them to thrive in diverse communities and global institutions.

Indeed, our alumni are living proof of this vision. From the classrooms of Southville, they’ve gone on to pursue higher learning at some of the world’s most prestigious universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Monash University, Imperial College London, King’s College London, University of British Columbia, Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and the National University of Singapore. These pathways affirm the creativity, innovation, and global-mindedness cultivated through the Southville IB Programme.

As we celebrate this milestone, we honor not only the achievements of our students but also the mission that drives our IB Programme—to develop globally engaged citizens who balance academic rigor with empathy, innovation with responsibility, and achievement with service.

Here’s to 20 years of excellence—and to many more years of empowering Monarchs to rise above and lead with purpose.