Secondary

Principal's Welcome

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to IAA. I am very proud to be leading a school that is young yet mature, dynamic yet stable and whose students are so articulate and confident yet grounded and compassionate.

IAA is a values driven school and we interpret education broadly. We view learning as a process and as an outcome. We encourage the development of our core values and skills as well as knowledge.

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to IAA. I am very proud to be leading a school that is young yet mature, dynamic yet stable and whose students are so articulate and confident yet grounded and compassionate.

IAA is a values driven school and we interpret education broadly. We view learning as a process and as an outcome. We encourage the development of our core values and skills as well as knowledge.

We value the whole child as an individual, with specific needs to be supported within the IAA community. As a result, I am very proud of our sporting success and the Hawks teams. In addition, our major theatrical productions are now of a standard that amazes me! Students who want to be involved in trips, MUN, Robotics, F1 and other activities, can find their niche at IAA.

The strength of both the IB Middle Years Programme and Diploma Programme offered in the Secondary School translates into IAA graduates who are better placed to fulfill their potential and make a meaningful contribution to a fast- changing and complex world. This is due to IAA’s academic rigour, breadth and depth, along with the associated "soft skills" built into our educational system.

In the Secondary School we recognise that we have a range of diverse learning profiles amongst our students from grades 6 to 12. We are committed to doing our best to meet their needs. Our teachers place an emphasis on differentiating instruction for learner variability and we also have a dedicated Learning Support team working to individualise support for students as necessary.

Like most schools, IAA will be judged by its examination results...and rightly so. We are very proud of how our cohorts have done and their placement in prestigious universities around the world. Our Diploma results get stronger every year and show continued stability and success in our ability to nurture and bring out the best in our students.

However, we strongly believe that we must not just settle for the measurable over the valuable, or the quantitative over the qualitative, for to do so would be to minimize and simplify the challenges facing the global citizen. If we know anything about the future, it is that it will be dominated by change, uncertainty, ambiguity and complexity. Those who can manage these challenges and succeed will be those students who have developed those characteristics defined in the IB Learner Profile. I sincerely believe that amongst our future leaders will be students from IAA.

The supportive relationship between students and all those who teach, guide and care for them is evident as one walks around the school. Such relationships are key to enabling any young person to flourish, and I would therefore invite you to visit our community before deciding whether IAA is the right school for your child.

We trust that you will find it easy to navigate through our dynamic website and that you find all the information that you require. Happy browsing!

Martin Thompson
Secondary School Principal

A COVID note! As with many schools around the world, the end of the last academic year and the start of the current academic year have been dominated by a switch to online learning. I am extremely proud of how our teachers and students have adapted to this ‘new normal’. It is not what we want, and has highlighted to us all just how important it is to be physically together as a community. However, we have made the very best of the situation we face and I am pleased to say that all subjects continue to be taught the full curriculum, with many innovative ideas being introduced to keep learning social, interactive and practical even from home. We hope this situation will not last for long, for the sake of the whole world, but whilst it does, IAA students continue to learn and be challenged.

Middle Years Programme

IAA Grades 6-10 students follow the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP). This programme builds on the solid foundation provided by IAA's Primary programme and has been specifically chosen to synthesize best-practice and standards from other international education systems. 

 

The IB MYP is a holistic, inquiry-based curriculum framework that not only addresses the broad academic needs of adolescents but also their emotional and social needs - especially, in terms of developing them as citizens of the world and leaders of tomorrow.

 

IAA Grades 6-10 students follow the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP). This programme builds on the solid foundation provided by IAA's Primary programme and has been specifically chosen to synthesize best-practice and standards from other international education systems. 

 

The IB MYP is a holistic, inquiry-based curriculum framework that not only addresses the broad academic needs of adolescents but also their emotional and social needs - especially, in terms of developing them as citizens of the world and leaders of tomorrow.

 

The focus of the IB MYP at IAA is developing international perspectives, employing both the solid curriculum on offer and the diversity of our students and their experiences. The methodology used is student-centered, with teachers utilizing a multiplicity of teaching strategies designed to cater to the different learning styles of our students. Whilst subjects are discretely taught, there is an integration of subject areas.

 

Students are assessed using published criteria and a variety of assessment tasks.

Grades 6-8 

Grades 6-8 follow a common core MYP curriculum, which aims to provide "skills for learning" within each subject area.

Grades 9-10

There is a trend towards subject specialization, with students being able to choose options. These options are offered within the framework of the IB Middle Years Programme.

1.    Students are now required to take Mathematics (standard or extended), Language and Literature - English, Language and Literature - Arabic or Language Acquisition - Arabic, Individuals and Societies, Sciences (Integrated or Discrete), and Interdisciplinary Learning.

2.    For Physical and Health Education, the Arts, Language Acquisition (Spanish), and Design, students are required to take between one and three of these subjects depending upon their interest. 

3.    Students are also required in grade 10 to take the Interdisciplinary onscreen examination and successfully complete their Personal Project.

Additional Curriculum Requirements

        Students, from Grades 6 to 10, must complete Service as Action requirements.

        Students, from Grades 6 to 10, must participate in PSHE (Physical, Social and Health Education classes).

        In Grade 8, students must complete a Community Project.

        In Grades 6 to 10, students also take part in Islamic and Christian Religion classes.

        In Grades 6 to 8, students also take part in coding classes. 

 

Course offerings are detailed in the IB Middle Years Programme Handbook.

 

For more information on the IB Middle Years Programme please contact the MYP Coordinator: r.abulaban@iaa.edu.jo

For any complaints regarding the IB program please refer to the parents_complaint_policy_and_procedure_.pdf for details on the school’s policy and procedure with this regard.

 

IB Diploma Programme

 

 

The IB DP is a pre-university course, studied over two years. Successful DP students may gain access to many prestigious universities around the world. The IB DP is possibly the most rigorous post-sixteen academic programme in the world. It is reading and writing intensive and emphasizes critical thinking and the application of content knowledge to real-world issues and problems.

 

 

 

The IB DP is a pre-university course, studied over two years. Successful DP students may gain access to many prestigious universities around the world. The IB DP is possibly the most rigorous post-sixteen academic programme in the world. It is reading and writing intensive and emphasizes critical thinking and the application of content knowledge to real-world issues and problems.

 

As a rigorous and academically challenging programme, it should not be undertaken lightly, as it requires significant time commitment and time management, as well as perseverance. The programme includes core components that are central to the award of the IB Diploma. It is viewed as excellent preparation for students for study at university.

 

The programme on offer at IAA is varied enough to meet most students' requirements.

 

The DP's grading system is criterion-referenced, which means that each student's performance is measured against well-defined levels of achievement. These are consistent from one examination session to the next and are applied equally to all schools.

 

The IB DP is offered both as a full Diploma and Courses. All students entering Grade 11 at IAA are entered as full Diploma students. The decision to pursue Courses is taken during Grade 11.

 

The IB Diploma offers a programme of a broad and balanced curriculum comprising six academic areas which are studied at Higher and/or Standard Level These are externally assessed both through examinations and internal assessment assignments marked at the school level but moderated externally.

IAA offers the following subjects at the IB DP level:

  • Group 1, Studies in language and literature: English Language and Literature, Arabic Literature
  • Group 2, Language acquisition: English, Arabic and Spanish
  • Group 3, Individuals and Society: Business Management, Economics, Global Politics, History and Psychology
  • Group 4, Sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Design Technology, Physics, Sports exercise and Health Science
  • Group 5, Mathematics: Maths Analysis and Approaches and Maths Applications and Interpretation
  • Group 6, The arts: Visual arts and Theatre
     
  • Interdisciplinary: Environmental systems and societies (Group 3 and Group 4)

The additional Core components, which all Diploma students must undertake, are:

  • CAS (Creativity Activity Service). This aims to develop in students a greater awareness of themselves, concern for others, and the ability to work cooperatively with other people. Please Note all full Diploma and all Course students are required to complete CAS.
  • Theory of Knowledge. This is an interdisciplinary course. It is intended to stimulate critical reflection on knowledge in its many forms. It is assessed externally through an essay and the internal component moderated externally.
  • Extended Essay. This is a 4,000 words essay intended to introduce students to the kind of independent research and writing skills expected by universities. This is assessed externally.

In addition to the above, all Grades 11 and 12 students study Islamic or Christian Religion (which is taught in Arabic).

 

Course offerings are detailed in the IB Diploma Programme Handbook.

 

For more information on the IB Diploma Programme, please visit the IB's website, www.ibo.org, or contact the IB DP Coordinator at J.Hayward@IAA.edu.jo

For any complaints regarding the IB program please refer to the parents_complaint_policy_and_procedure_.pdf for details on the school’s policy and procedure with this regard.