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The«OptionInternationaleduBaccalauréat»(OIB)Britishsection-LycéeCondorcet-SydneyBilingual students wishing to study at overseas universities may also opt to take the «OptionInternationaleduBaccalauréat»(OIB)–Britishsection.Atthelycee(Highschool),studentshave4hofEnglishclassesand2hofhistoryclassesinEnglishaddedtothemainstreamcurriculum.OIBisanadditionaloptiontothegeneralbaccalaureatewhichoffersmoresubjectstaughtfromaBritish perspective and taken in English, and which is totally different from the InternationalBaccalaureate(IB).Theseadditionalexamsareofferedinliterature,historyandgeographyallowingahighergradetobeachievedtowardsthefinalbaccalaureatemark.TheOIBprovidesstudentswithauniversityentrancequalificationvalidinUK,NorthAmericaandFrance. It makes academic and linguistic demands on an equal level in English and French.CambridgeUniversityandtheFrenchMinistryofEducationworkinpartnershiptoimplementandensurethequalityoftheBritishsectionoftheOIB.

France is theonly country in theworld tohaveofficially incorporatedanoptional internationalcomponentintoitsestablishedsecondaryschoolcurriculum:theOIB.TheOptionInternationaleduBaccalauréat is not a separate diploma but rather a specializationwithin the framework of theFrenchBaccalaureate.StudentspreparefortheBritishsectionoftheOIBduringthelasttwoyearsoftheLycée(classesofPremièreandTerminale)andfinalexaminationsoftheOIBcoverthecurriculumtaughtintheselasttwoyears.TheEnglish languageand literaturesegmentof theOIB isarigorousprogramtaughtentirelyinEnglishinseminarstyleclasses,whichincludeuptofivehoursofclassroomtime.TheOIBhistoryandgeographyprogramincludesuptofourhoursofclassroomperweek.BothsectionsculminateinwrittenandoralexamsinEnglish.

v OIBCoursesandExamsCandidates studying English language and literature follow a curriculum set by the InspectionGénérale,whichispartoftheFrenchMinistryofEducation,incollaborationwiththesubject-level

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Inspectorsandtheteacher-examiners.Thecurriculumcomprises12literaryworkschosenfromavarietyofgenres,representingdiversityintheethnicbackgroundsandgendersoftheauthors.Inhistory-geography,theteachingstructureisbilingual,astheprogramofstudyincludesAmericanteacherswhoteachthehistoryportionandFrenchteachersorFrench-speakingteachers,whoteachgeographybasedonaFrenchpedagogicaltradition.Candidateswhostudyhistoryandgeographyfollowathemed-basedcurriculumestablishedbytheFrenchMinistryofEducation.Attheendofthemultiyearcoursework,OIBstudentstakea4-hourwrittenexaminationineachofthetwosubjectsaswellasa30minuteoralexaminationinlanguageandliteratureanda20minuteoralexaminationinhistoryandgeography,inadditiontotheFrenchBaccalaureate.

v BenefitsoftheOIB

- OIBstudentslearntohandleanunusuallyheavyworkload,andtoprioritizeconflictingcommitments.- OIBstudentsacquireaculturalmobility—theabilitytothinkfromaFrenchculturalviewpointoranEnglishculturalviewpoint—thatgivesthemdifferentperspectivesontheiruniversitystudies,whateverthesubject.- OIBstudentshavelearneddifferentapproachestothinkingandmethodologyfromtwodifferenteducationsystems;thiscangivethemunusualflexibilityinproblemsolvingorinadoptingasuitablemethodforaparticulartask.- TheOIBisarigorousprogramdevotedtoeducationalexcellenceandsetshighperformancestandardsforstudentsandfaculty.- TheOIBinvolvesdedicatedandcreativeteacherscommittedtotheirstudents,theirdisciplines,andtheirprofession.- TheOIBattractshighlymotivatedstudentswhowishtoexcelacademicallyandattendthemostselectivecollegesanduniversities.- TheOIBprogramprovidesforarticulationbetweenmiddleschoolandhighschool,terminatingwiththeFrenchBaccalaureate.- Insupportoftheacademicprogram,theOIBoffersprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesfor

teachersandadministratorsworldwide.