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The Trivandrum International School (TRINS) has become the first International Baccalaureate (IB) World School in Kerala and the only institution offering IB programmes from kindergarten to Class 12, officials said yesterday. |
Addressing a press conference here, TRINS president George M Thomas said the achievement came with the authorisation to offer full-fledged primary year programme (PYP) for the junior school.
It was earlier the only school in Kerala to offer the IB diploma programme at the Senior Secondary level.
TRINS now joins the ranks of a handful of international schools in the country to offer one of the most sought-after, student-centric curricula in the world. The 40-year-old, Geneva-based organisation is the founding authority of this global standard of education.
“This is an exceptional achievement for us in a span of merely two years,” said Sapnu George, the executive director of TRINS. “It is a proof of the success of the methodology and curriculum planned and executed by our teachers in the past two years.”
G Vijaya Raghavan, the honorary director of TRINS and a member of the state’s Planning Board, said the core focus of the school and the curriculum is on personality development. The school has been implementing the programme since 2011 as part of the IB certification process.
“Unlike the chalk and talk method of teaching, PYP is a very innovative, learner-centred, learner-driven model of education for children during their key foundation years,” he said. “Students are encouraged to self-learn and constantly question and explore, making their learning experience more creative, enriching and contextual.”
The PYP curriculum consists of a number of activities for children centred on a series of themes relevant to their age group. It encourages children to actively engage with local communities, develop a sense of belongingness, identify problems and take direct action on social issues.