International Examinations at Holy Trinity: Education for the New Millennium

In a world as changing as today's, we say that our children need knowledge and tools to perform with criteria and responsibility as people and professionals. This has almost become a catchphrase that we all seem to agree with. However, are we capable of knowing what knowledge and tools we so much want to give them?

It is as a result of this tireless search that all educators carry out to find the best answer to our questions, that we consider the IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) programs of the University of Cambridge and IBO (International Baccalaureate Organisation) as the best proposal for our students.

The IGCSE certificates confirm that the student has achieved a series of basic knowledge in different areas, which can be applied through reading skills, comprehension, interpretation, comparison and formulation of conclusions among many others, essential to pass these exams. For us, on the other hand, it means the minimum base to be able to face the work of the second and third year polymodal.

The International Baccalaureate exists thanks to the fact that several educators from different countries felt that the educational systems were not taking into account the dependency between nations and their people, or globalization. This program emphasizes an international curriculum leaving an important space for the formation of our national and cultural identity. We consider that its plus lies in the depth of the topics it proposes, the integrating approach of the different cultures and the complexity of the skills required for the students.

The IB originated 30 years ago. Since then the population exploded, the economic boom moved from Europe to Asia and the political-economic blocs that emerged in the Cold War collapsed. In 1971, when the first diplomas were awarded, there were only ten member schools of what is now this prestigious organization made up of more than 700 international schools from 100 different countries. There are even schools in countries as foreign to Argentina as Zambia and Vietnam. This united diversity has a profound impact on the education of future generations. IB students know the importance of what we call being “bilingual or multilingual” and many (if not all) of them have perfect command of their mother tongue plus English, which today is the universal language.

We understand that this program goes hand in hand with the idea of directing students as men of integrity, respect and solidarity, while developing in them the sense of effort and sacrifice to achieve the proposed goals. These two values so disqualified in our current world, however, are increasingly essential tools to function satisfactorily throughout personal and professional life.