When do IB students begin taking IB courses?
The IB Diploma Programme encompasses only the final two years of secondary school. In North America this generally refers to grades 11 and 12, although in some schools it refers to grades 12 and 13. These are the only years in which students are permitted to take Diploma Programme courses. However, to help prepare students for the two-year IB Diploma Programme, some schools may enroll students in their locally developed “pre-IB” programmes for the high school years leading up to the final two years. Although only the last two years make up the actual IB Diploma Programme, schools often refer to the entire three- or four-year sequence (pre-IB plus IB years) as the Diploma Programme.
