Methodist Ladies’ College (MLC) is celebrating its International Baccalaureate (IB) students, who received outstanding results for their 2023 final exams.
From language and humanities to science and mathematics, IB students choose their subjects from a selection of six core areas, as well as undertaking self-directed research in an extended essay, a Theory of Knowledge subject and Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS).
The globally recognised diploma has been designed to empower students with an inquiring, international outlook alongside a well-rounded curriculum, equipping them with the skills necessary to thrive in the dynamic landscape beyond life in the classroom.
“The IB curriculum has been offered at MLC for over two decades, including achieving perfect diploma scores every year for fifteen years. Today’s results stand as a testament to the positive impact of a passion-driven approach to education,” the College said.
This year, two students achieved a perfect diploma score of 45, a further two students achieved a diploma score of 44, and 50% of MLC’s IB cohort achieved a diploma score of 40 or above.
The IB Notional ATARs will be released by the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) today, Thursday 4 January 2024.
Speaking on the results, Principal Julia Shea said MLC’s 2023 IB cohort should be incredibly proud of their achievements.
“In an environment where societal issues transcend borders through various platforms, it’s crucial now more than ever for young adults to approach their mindset with a global lens and become critical thinkers and problem solvers.
“The IB Diploma is strongly aligned with MLC’s educational approach of providing a broad and balanced curriculum across all years of schooling. The results show how much our IB students benefit from this,” she said.
“Uniquely, IB students as part of their diploma have their final years of study structured to develop their multilingual skills, global knowledge and citizenry. The IB Diploma is also structured to have mandatory co-curricular components, and it’s wonderful to see our IB students take advantage of the breadth of choices available to better balance their academic studies by pursuing co-curricular activities that interest and excite them.”
“These results represent the overall dedication of our students to their studies, but also shows how far one can go when properly engaged in the topics they are learning about,” she said.
IB student Georgie Thomas embraced the challenges presented by the IB program with enthusiasm.
“It might not be a popular opinion but honestly, despite the Year 12 stress, I think it has been one of the best years of my life. I have learnt so much, connected with incredible people and created some amazing memories,” she said.
On top of her participation in MLC’s intensive rowing program and being MLC’s 2023 Senior Prefect, Georgie used the IB program to create a unique blend of subjects that allowed her to tap into her STEM-focused mind, while gaining a deep appreciation for the nuances of language, culture, and history:
“In IB, we have to do one internal assessment per subject, which consists of a self-directed project. For my maths investigation, I was looking at the probability of arriving at red or green traffic lights. I was surprised by how engaging I found it. I like the idea of using maths and science to solve everyday, real-life problems. That’s why I want to study engineering.”
Aarushi Mishra, MLC’s 2023 Environment and Sustainability Prefect, used her academic journey to unite her love for the humanities and her fervour for environmental issues. Her selection of high-level humanities subjects, including English Literature and History, gave her a platform to explore social issues that she is deeply passionate about.
“I chose the International Baccalaureate (IB) pathway over the traditional VCE because it provided me with an interdisciplinary and global-based learning program which, coming from an immigrant family myself, really resonated with me.”
Aarushi is already making strides as the 2024 Program Assistant for MLC’s Educational Outdoor program in Gippsland’s Banksia Peninsula which enabled her to mentor and impart her passions to young students.
“Whatever my future career path ends up being, I see myself advocating for a more just world and mentoring younger students about the issues that affect our world,” she said.
