Queen Morta school uses an original educational system developed by dr. A. Landsbergienė with a focus on the needs and challenges of the 21st century. The foundations of this system focus on the capacity to learn and create in an unpredictable and constantly evolving world, to raise questions, to critically assess environmental phenomena and form comprehensive and unrestricted views about the world. The education process is implemented on the basis of the General Education Plan of the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Lithuania.

The essential characteristic of this educational system, which distinguish it from the educational systems used in Lithuanian schools, is contextual education. The goal of contextual education is to understand and explore in depth the multidimentional context of the child, i.e., the surrounding environment – socio-economic, cultural, biological, educational and any other context – and then to select and adapt the most appropriate education methods taking into account the particularities identified. Implementation may be facilitated by consistent planning of the objectives for each lesson, and of the activities for achieving these objectives based on the educational content and the needs of the students. An education system based on the principles of contextual education seeks to promote children’s curiosity, ensure freedom of self-expression, develop character and lay strong foundations for values. Close collaboration among all participants in the learning process, namely teachers, parents and children, results in successful implementation of this educational approach.

In 2017, Queen Morta school received Cambridge school’s status enabling it to use the International Cambridge education programme Cambridge Primary in primary school and Cambridge Secondary 1 in upper-elementary school. These programmes consist of educational guidance and teaching methods, developed by Cambridge University’s educational scientists and recognized experts in the field, which are in turn applied and adapted by the school to the selected educational system. In addition, Cambridge qualifications acquired upon completing an educational programme are recognized and valued by leading universities and employers around the world as a sign of excellent academic abilities and an education of the highest quality.

The students of Queen Morta School graduate with an International Baccalaureate Diploma. The internationally recognized IB Diploma serves as an evidence of graduating students’ inquiring mind, academic intelligence and integrity, demonstrated grit and great study skills as well as social awareness.

The knowledge and skills gained in the course of the programme enables them to pursue further knowledge and excellence at colleges and universities throughout the world.

Our students are independent and motivated young people who diligently work to meet high academic expectations of the school while also growing their sense of social responsibility. We educate students’ ability and willingness to think globally. We work to support students’ curiosity and help them become autonomous, responsible and self-reliant life-long learners.

IB Diploma Programme at Queen Morta School is a two-year curriculum for students of 11th and 12th grade where all teaching takes place in English. The curriculum, tests and examinations are determined globally by the IBO.

The IB Diploma with its rigorous, but very well-balanced curriculum gives students a unique set of competences. A successful student leaves the school with great:

• thinking,
• research,
• communication,
• social,
• and self-management skills.

Over the course of the two-year IB Diploma Programme, every student studies six chosen subjects and complete the requirements of the 3 core courses – CAS, Theory of Knowledge, and Extended Essay. By introducing the core subjects the IB DP aims to broaden students’ educational experience and challenge them to apply gained knowledge and skills.

In IB DP the teaching is:

• based on inquiry,
• focused on conceptual understanding,
• developed to address global and local contexts,
• implemented through student’s teamwork and collaboration,
• differentiated to meet the needs of every learner,
• and informed by a range of assessment tools.

Our IB DP teachers are dedicated and passionate educators who see their young students as the future citizens of a global world. Through the course of the programme the teachers work to help the students develop attributes of the IB Learner Profile:

• Inquirers
• Knowledgeable
• Thinkers
• Communicators
• Principled
• Open-minded
• Caring
• Risk-takers
• Balanced
• Reflective

The IB Learner profile our school’s ambition to educate adaptable, independent, confident, ethical and courageous young women and men, who while attending a local Lithuanian school would become true citizens of the world. We see our students as those who will possess the will, the interest and the necessary skills to remain life-long learners and explorers and as such will be well equipped to tackle the future challenges arising to their own and the international community.

6 SUBJECTS OF CHOICE 

IB DP students study six subjects of their choice, usually three at Higher Level (HL) and three at Standard Level (SL).

All students must choose one subject from each of the following groups:

Group 1 Language and Literature: Lithuanian literature, English A: language and literature

Group 2 Language Acquisition: English B, English A: language and literature, Spanish ab initio

Group 3 Individuals and Societies: History, Geography, Economics, Global politics

Group 4 Sciences: Biology, Chemistry, Physics

Group 5 Mathematics: Mathematical analysis and approaches

Group 6 additional subject from groups 2 (Spanish ab initio), 3, 4

At the end of the second year, each subject is concluded with a written exam, which is assessed by a censor from the IB organization on the basis of international criteria and is awarded a grade between 1 and 7. DP final assessment is based on a combination of these end-of-course examinations along with externally-marked or moderated course work.

The curriculum allows the students through the course of two years to:

engage in a number of practical assignments,
study a range of topics and literature,
do research on various topics,
engage in individual and team projects,
participate in daily discussions around challenging topics,
produce essays,
create presentations,
initiate, organize, create.
The students make their choice of subjects based on interests, strengths and university ambitions.

THE CORE 

Creativity, activity, service (CAS) 

Studied throughout the Diploma Programme, CAS involves students in a range of activities alongside their academic studies. Though CAS activities are not formally assessed, successfully demonstrating the learning outcomes for CAS is a formal requirement for the diploma.

CAS is a fundamental and unique part of the IB experience and an organic continuation of our school’s social hours policy. It helps the students to grasp the importance of extracurricular activities as an integral part of life and as a healthy study-life balance. Through CAS students receive opportunities for responsible action, individual growth and enjoyment.

CAS takes the form of individual or collaborative projects initiated by the student, designed to demonstrate perseverance and aimed at acquiring skills, such as collaboration, problem solving and decision making.

CAS projects may center around the following activities throughout the two years of study:

Creativity – arts, and other experiences that involve creative thinking.
Activity – physical effort contributing to a healthy lifestyle.
Service – an unpaid and voluntary engagement of a student that would give learning benefits.
 

Theory of Knowledge (TOK) 

One of the unique parts of the IB DP curriculum is the Theory of Knowledge course. The course invites the students to reflect on knowledge as a human construction and to explore how we know what we claim to know.

The course is spread across the two years of study and it is almost entirely made up of questions in a number of knowledge areas.

Thanks to this course the students:

become aware of the complexity of knowledge,
gain greater awareness of own perceptions,
develop appreciation of different perspectives,
gain insights in areas they have never explored or thought about before,
explore the interdisciplinary nature of subjects taught,
improve critical thinking and analytical skills.
 

Extended Essay (EE) 

Every student must select, research and write an academic in-depth work of 4,000 words in one of their six selected study subjects.

Depending on the topic of interest the EE might take different forms.  An essay in literature or history might end up looking like a more traditional academic essay. If the focus is on sciences the student might choose to perform an experiment and write up the results.

The EE allows the student to now only explore the topic of own interest, but also to become familiar with in-depth independent research and develop writing skills and academic integrity expected at university.

The EE and TOK are both formal Diploma requirements.

WHO CAN APPLY? 

To Grade 11 the school accepts motivated students:

who have studied both in Lithuanian and foreign schools and have graduated from Grade 10,
who have graduated from IB Middle Years Programme.
A student shall be invited to sit an English and Mathematics tests and come for an interview with the school’s admissions team. The student’s parents are welcome to participate.

The school shall consider the admission of each student individually, taking into account the results of admission tests, student’s motivation and readiness to seek an IB Diploma as well prior academic record and personal characteristics.

For more information on the IB please visit https://www.ibo.org/
For more information on the IB Diploma programme please visit https://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/
For more information on the university admissions of IB students please visit https://www.ibo.org/university-admission/

THE SCHOOL FOCUSES ON THREE PILLARS

• natural sciences/ knowledge of the world
• mathematics/information technologies
• foreign languages

From 2017, three core subjects – mathematics, natural sciences and English as a foreign language – have been taught in accordance with Cambridge educational programmes. Mathematics and natural science programmes are integrated into the General Education Plan of the Ministry of Science and Education, complementing and extending the national programme as well as ensuring a more comprehensive educational appproach and more accurate assessment of achievement. English as a second language is taught in accordance with the Cambridge requirements.