November/December Updates
By Joe O'Callaghan
For many of us, the festive season has well and truly arrived. Here in the UK, many towns have held events in which a local celebrity switches on the town's Christmas lights, and these same celebrities might be spotted at the local theatre, starring in a pantomime. Both of these are great traditions to explore under the Experiences theme. As the year draws to a close, let's take a look at the recent updates to the site.
The Paper 2 Reading Question Types page has had a major facelift, with examples of each question type to help you plan your teaching of this assessment component. As this is a student-facing page, you can also share it with your classes as a reference and revision tool.
We have a comprehensive review of the IB's report for the May 2025 examination session. It unplacks the key findings for each of the three time zones. Interestingly, this was the first time we've seen separate papers for the three time zones. This marks a significant shift in the IB's efforts to ensure exam security.
With the IB gradually moving Diploma Programme assessments online over the next few years, we take a look at what this means for English B. Check out this page which includes a video explainer.
For many schools, the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) is the precursor to the Diploma Programme (DP). It is about to see some major changes to the way it is organised so we have summarised these updates with a focus on language acqusition on the Enhancing the MYP page.
The Academic Word List pages, launched earlier this year, now contain four of the ten sublists. These are the most frequently used words in academic contexts when subject-specific and general vocabulary items are removed. Mastering them is a great way for your students to access their other subjects, as well as enhance their vocabulary in more formal academic and professional writing tasks such as proposals, formal letters, and essays. Check out the 3rd and 4th sublists and associated tasks.
With many schools beginning the EE process for students taking their exams in May 2027, we have updated our pages to summarise and comment on the new EE guide. Check it out here. We're also planning on adding more example research questions as inspiration for your students.
If you're seeking professaional development opportunities for the new year, then take a look at our offerings at InThinking. I will be leading face-to-face workshops for Category 1 and 2, in Barcelona and Berlin respectively. Check out the options below and get in touch with your DP Coordinator if you'd like to attend. It would be awesome to see you!
DP Category 1
Barcelona, Spain: Friday 13 - Sunday 15 February, 2026
Workshop leader: Joseph O'Callaghan
Info & Agenda
DP Category 2
Berlin, Germany: Friday 6 - Sunday 8 March, 2026
Workshop leader: Joseph O'Callaghan
Info & Agenda
