An elite Adelaide private school has scaled back their IB involvement

An elite private school has cut an International Baccalaureate program after a parent survey revealed apathy toward the SACE alternative.

One of Adelaide’s most prestigious schools has become the latest to scale back their involvement with the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program following a parent survey which showed waning interest.

In a letter to parents from Prince Alfred College’s head of preparatory school John Stewart, he announced they would no longer offer the IB Primary Years Program (PYP), which is available to students aged three to 12.

The survey revealed almost half of respondents did not factor the PYP in their decision to enrol at the school and a further 28 per cent did not consider it “a deciding factor”.

The response to the survey and “feedback from teaching staff” informed the decision to stop offering the program from 2024, Mr Stewart said.

“Our shift away from the PYP framework will enable us to establish a new learning area for science, Technology and Robotics,” he said.

“This curriculum will be delivered by a specialist science and Technology teacher who will oversee the introduction of this new integrated and immersive learning experience.”

Prince Alfred College. Picture Dean Martin

More than 63 per cent of parents who responded to the survey were supportive of a “research informed program” which covers literacy and numeracy, as well as “enhanced immersive programs” in subjects such as humanities, science and the arts.

The decision comes after last year, a slew of Adelaide private schools cut the IB program.

In August 2022, Concordia College confirmed that it would no longer offering the diploma – an alternative to the SACE – joining Walford, Seymour College and Woodcroft College.

Concordia said it would continue to run the International Baccalaureate primary and middle year programs, but would not explain why it axed the senior high school diploma.

South Australian International Baccalaureate Diploma Network chairwoman Gabriele Walldorf-Davis defended the program, saying schools’ decisions to stop offering it were not related to its quality.