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International Middle Years Curriculum

Utilising research around the needs of the teenage brain, the International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC) connects and improves learning and supports the challenging transition from primary to secondary school.

Through its progressive, culturally responsive pedagogy, it encourages teenagers to be informed, globally competent, and future-ready learners.

Personalised learning

As the final stage of the International Curriculum, the IMYC incorporates the latest educational research and evidence to ensure it remains at the forefront of learning design for international education.

The IMYC enables teachers to personalise the curriculum to adolescents’ needs while developing their Knowledge, Skills and Understanding across multiple subject areas.

This personalisation is delivered through the Subject, Personal and International Learning Goals which are core elements of the IMYC. These goals encourage students to engage meaningfully with their academic disciplines, develop personal growth and cultivate an interest in diverse cultures, places, and issues, helping them become globally competent citizens who positively impact society.

See how the IMYC could benefit your school.

01 Support with implementation

Schools and educators receive a comprehensive set of detailed materials and documentation to support implementation, outlining each stage of planning and delivery. This includes an interactive planning tool with pre-populated routes specifically designed for schools beginning their IMYC journey.

02 Interdisciplinary learning
The IMYC features units crafted around Big Ideas for teachers to create rigorous and enjoyable learning opportunities that enable students to connect and make meaning with their subjects.
03 A flexible curriculum

The IMYC can be used alone or in partnership with other curricula. It has been mapped to the English National Curriculum and the American Common Core Standards, demonstrating its flexibility and rigour with international benchmarks in education.

Book a meeting

Testimonials

Partnering your school with an ICA guide to help you through the critical first phase of curriculum adoption. We work alongside your team to establish strong foundations, create practical frameworks, and build confidence in your new curriculum journey.

Working with you to:

  • champion quality
  • improve learning and,
  • unlock potential.

The 25th Birthday of IPC

Celebrating the International Primary Curriculum’s 25th anniversary – join the global celebration!
The International Primary Curriculum (IPC) turns 25 on 14 September! Over the past quarter of a century, the IPC has empowered schools cross the globe to nurture curious, creative and connected learners.

Nine challenges. Four months. One global celebration

This year, we’re marking the milestone with a series of exciting IPC themed challenges, which have been designed to spark imagination, celebrate diversity, and showcase the global IPC community in the classroom.

Each challenge has been curated to be simple, fun and flexible so schools can choose how to get involved.

Join us as we reflect on the past, celebrate the present and imagine the next 25 years of the IPC together.

Join us as we reflect on the past, celebrate the present and imagine the next 25 years of the IPC together.

The beginnings of the IPC

In the 1990s, Peter le Noble, Martin Skelton and David Playfoot began to brainstorm on a more effective and truly relevant international curriculum for the Shell schools. It took them more than four years to develop the dream of providing a cross-curricular and thematic programme for children of all abilities, with more than 70 units of work, spread over three mileposts and based around themes of real interest to the children.

Shell's contribution
The acronym ‘IPC’ first appeared in Shell’s vocabulary in the 1930s, when Shell had a 23.75% stake in The Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC). Seventy years later, Shell invested in a completely different IPC, which was initially called The Shell International Primary Curriculum. The IPC was designed to meet the demands of 21st-century learning and to be suitable for the diverse cohorts of international children enrolled in Shell schools worldwide.
Starting out
Martin Skelton shares, “I vividly remember, on a visit to the Shell school in Bintulu (Malaysia) during the IPC trial period, how the children and parents enjoyed the Olympics, one of the first units of work we developed and trialled in the Shell Schools”.

"I look forward to the IPC community participating in the celebrations and completing the challenges!"

Jaqueline Harmer - Head of the IPC

We asked IPC learners 'What would make the IPC better?' This is what they said -

News

International Primary Curriculum

Our International Primary Curriculum (IPC) supports the holistic development of learners with enjoyable, relevant, and rigorous learning, that prepares them to be globally competent, socially conscious, and motivated individuals that positively contribute to the world they live in.

Designed to be engaging for primary-aged learners, the IPC embraces the transformative nature of learning with the goal of improving learning for all.

A global learning focus

The IPC encompasses Academic and Personal Learning, which supports students to flourish both inside and outside of the classroom, while its interconnected, global learning focus helps students build an understanding of people from other parts of the world.

Its learner-focused, progressive pedagogy has been developed based on current neuroscientific understandings. It enables students to make connections between the classroom, prior learning, and life experiences with a focus on metacognition, encouraging students to reflect deeply on each stage of their learning journeys.

See how the IPC could benefit your school.

01 Comprehensive materials

IPC teachers and leaders are provided with comprehensive materials to implement the curriculum, including guidance documentation, a detailed Learning Goals matrix and route planning tool that allows them to take ownership of the curriculum.

02 Tailored to local requirements

Schools delivering the Curriculum have access to over 150 units of learning, which feature detailed descriptions of learning tasks, connect learning across multiple subject areas and can be tailored to local requirements.

03 Global connections
International learning and global competence can be enhanced through connecting with classes using the IPC in other countries; harnessing technology to research, discover broader perspectives and share insights with each other.

Book a meeting

Testimonials

Testimonials

Partnering your school with an ICA guide to help you through the critical first phase of curriculum adoption. We work alongside your team to establish strong foundations, create practical frameworks, and build confidence in your new curriculum journey.

Working with you to:

  • champion quality
  • improve learning and,
  • unlock potential.

Partnering with Monster Phonics

ICA and Monster Phonics

We are pleased to share that we have partnered with Monster Phonics.

Monster Phonics is an award-winning programme with a multisensory approach that dramatically enhances learning and engagement. Covering Nursery to Year 6, this is a comprehensive phonics and spelling scheme that guides children on an exciting learning journey

The Partnership

We have partnered with Monster Phonics to provide access to a comprehensive suite of literacy resources, designed to engage students and build strong reading skills.

The partnership enables international schools to access innovative phonics resources that cater to diverse learning needs and enhance English language acquisition.

We are both dedicated to delivering exceptional educational experiences to international schools, making this partnership a perfect fit.

Elevating literacy outcomes

Monster Phonics gives your teachers the tools and support they need to deliver effective literacy instruction. Schools following our International Curriculum will benefit from Monster Phonics’ research-backed, engaging approach to phonics.

Curriculum integration

Schools using the International Curriculum can now integrate the Monster Phonics programme. By combining curriculum expertise with cutting-edge phonics instruction, schools will build confident, capable readers.

A whole school approach to PD
This partnership will enable you to implement a whole school approach to literacy instruction and professional development, ensuring that all students and teachers have the opportunity to succeed.

Integrate Monster Phonics with the IEYC and IPC

Hear from schools already implementing Monster Phonics

International Early Years Curriculum

Our International Early Years Curriculum (IEYC) is comprehensive, research-informed and evidence-based on learning in early childhood. It promotes playful learning experiences that nurture key skills required for progression into primary learning and later life.

The IEYC represents the beginning of a child’s learning journey with the International Curriculum and is currently improving early learning in over 60 countries.

Meaningful learning experiences

The IEYC has been developed to provide breadth and depth of learning within meaningful experiences so that children understand what effective learning is and develop their capacity to make the most of learning in school.

It has a progressive pedagogy that is playful, promotes high levels of child well-being and involvement, and helps teachers respond to child-initiated experiences through learning-focused interactions and sustained shared thinking.

01 Knowledge-rich narratives

Teachers and leaders are provided with over 20 units of learning that provide knowledge-rich narratives for learning, which enables students to learn about a broad range of themes within their school community and beyond.

02 Flexible in design

The curriculum is designed to be flexible so that schools can shape their offer to ensure it meets its local context and needs.

03 Parents are valued partners

It unites teachers and parents around a common theme of learning. It incorporates parents as valued key partners, all to help their children learn better, broader, and deeper.

Book a meeting

Testimonials

Partnering your school with an ICA guide to help you through the critical first phase of curriculum adoption. We work alongside your team to establish strong foundations, create practical frameworks, and build confidence in your new curriculum journey.

Working with you to:

  • champion quality
  • improve learning and,
  • unlock potential.
Enquire now

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