In July 2020 the Hochalpines Institut Ftan received a letter from Dr Siva Kumari in which she announced:
“On behalf of the International Baccalaureate Organization (IB), it is my privilege to inform you that Hochalpines Institut Ftan is now an authorized IB World School for the Diploma Programme. Congratulations to you and your colleagues on this considerable accomplishment.”
Siva Kumari is Director General of the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO). Our school thus became one of the approximately 3500 schools worldwide authorised to teach the prestigious IB Diploma programme, a two-year university preparation programme, recognised for admission by Swiss universities and worldwide by leading academic institutions.
IB accreditation is a significant milestone
Achieving this milestone in its 227-year history has put HIF well and truly on the world map of the world’s leading schools on all five continents. Each of these schools has been approved by the Geneva-based IBO because they meet its exacting standards and practices.
Not only did HIF meet these requirements, it exceeded some of them, receiving praise in the areas of teaching and learning, leadership for its library-learning centre – “a dynamic and inviting space conducive to individual and group study” – and, of course, for our students: “Conversations with students demonstrate an awareness of diverse perspectives and globally significant issues to include the UN Sustainable Development Goals”.
Clearly, the status “IB World School” brings much-needed reinforcement for the commercial potential of HIF. With the IB Diploma, the Swiss Matura and the IGCSE – three of the most prestigious secondary education programmes globally - HIF can now appeal to a wider community of students from across Europe and around the world. Commercial success, however, goes hand in hand with the kind of learning experience and personal development which a school makes possible. What does this “considerable achievement” mean, therefore, in educational terms for the immediate and longer-term future of our school?
Commitment to the future
First, IB authorisation comes with a commitment. Dr Kumari states: “As an IB World School offering the Diploma Programme, you are part of a global community of schools committed to developing knowledgeable, caring young people who will be ready to negotiate their futures successfully and make contributions resulting in a more harmonious and peaceful world.”
This raises the question of how the school can help our students translate these aims into action so that they do not remain just noble sentiments. Such questions led us – school leadership, teachers and students – to reflect on the kind of school we are and the kind of school we aspire to be. In other words: what is our mission? What values remain unchanging while the school is in the process of continuous development?
The HIF mission statement which emerged from workshops, conversations, drafts and revised drafts chimes closely with that of the IBO:
“The school aims to promote open-mindedness, critical thinking, self-directed research and teamwork through teaching and learning with a local, national and international outlook. We challenge our students to become internationally-minded citizens with a sense of responsibility for our shared planet. We want them to understand that fairness, kindness and community spirit help to make the world a better place.”
On the path of the great educators
IB World School status gives HIF an opportunity to move forward while carefully stewarding its heritage, which reaches back to the days of Pestalozzi, à Porta and other radically progressive Swiss educators of The Enlightenment.
Here is an example of how Bernd Mall, IB Biology teacher at HIF, is planning to approach the global challenges of environmental protection from personal and local points of view while promoting an attitude of international mindedness:
International education in its purest form
Although it has met international standards just like the other IB World Schools, there is and remains only one HIF. It is the combination of strong local roots and community feeling with an open-minded, world-embracing outlook, which together produces a unique blend. During the day – in the classroom, on the sports field, in the gym and in the wide variety of out-of-class activities - local students from the village and the valley below learn and play alongside international students. HIF is a melting pot of languages and cultures of languages and cultures in which life-long bonds and networks of real friendship are created. This is international education in its purest form, where the local meets the global and both learn from each other, take part in each other’s lives and are enriched by the experience.
Demanding and prestigious courses of academic study are the foundations for what is generally understood as success at school. But academic success is only part of the story. To prosper and flourish, HIF must cherish the charm and warmth which give it the special place it occupies in the hearts and memories of its students, past and present. Perched high above the valley, HIF has something of the peace and serenity of a Shangri-la. This seclusion, however, is not splendid isolation, and the natural beauty of its surroundings are no escape from the challenges facing current generations of young people in the decades ahead.
To prepare them for these challenges HIF sees itself as the setting for developing character, for discovering and shaping identity, for reflecting on values and for finding the purpose one wants to give one’s life. Central to this task are inspiring teaching and the sense of mutual respect between adults and young people which prevails at HIF - the “fairness, kindness and community spirit” which is our mission and the fertile ground in which deep learning and success can flourish.
Peter J. Pasquill
IGCSE and IB Coordinator