ESS 2024 (First Exams 2026)
Welcome to the landing page for the ESS Course starting in August 2024 with first exams in 2026. On this page you will find the main headlines for the new course and we will add links as we release the new material.
There will be three core concepts which form the Foundation Topics. These are Perspectives, Systems and Sustainability. The aim is to teach the foundation topics at the start of the course as they infuse the rest of the course.
Each of the topics includes additional HL level material then there are three HL lenses. These are separate topics that can be used to infuse the other topics. These lenses are Environmental Law, Environmental Economics and Environmental Ethics.
The designated number of hours for practical activities has been raised from 30 hours to 50 hours. This includes 10 hours for the Internal Assessment and 10 hours for the new Collaborative Sciences Project (was Group 4 Project) and which is now compulsory for ESS students.
The emphasis on skills for an interdisciplinary subject means that students will develop many skills that may be familiar from different disciplines.
There will continue to be two papers in ESS.
Paper 1 continues to be a case study with a resource booklet. This will be extended for HL.
Paper 2 continues to contain Section A with short answer questions and Section B with essay questions with parts a, b and c but there is differentiation between SL and HL.
The internal assessment remains an individual investigation, however, collaboration will be permitted in the collection of data.
Selected Pages
ESS 2024 (First Exams 2026)
Comparing ESS 2024 and ESS 2015 Free
In this section, we provide highlights of the course starting in 2024 and how it differs from the version first published...
ESS 2024 (First Exams 2026)
Topic 4: Water Activities
In this section we have a variety of activities to support student learning in Topic 4: Water. Some can be followed independently,...
ESS 2024 (First Exams 2026)
Topic 3: Biodiversity and Conservation Activities
In this section we have a variety of activities to support student learning in Topic 3: Biodiversity and Conservation. Some...
ESS 2024 (First Exams 2026)
Topic 2 Ecology Activities
In this section we have a variety of activities to support student learning in Topic 2: Ecology. Some can be followed independently,...
ESS 2024 (First Exams 2026)
HL.c Environmental Ethics Activities
In this section we have a variety of activities to support student learning in the HL.c Environmental Ethics lens. Some...
ESS 2024 (First Exams 2026)
Speciesism - The Case of The Octopus
In the HL Lens of Ethics, we are asked to consider questions of our choices through an ethical lens. This activity will...