Dear Head and IB Coordinator

As the new academic year dawns I wanted to write to you on behalf of the Directors and Officers of IBSCA to convey our very best wishes for the forthcoming academic year and to encourage you to renew your membership of IBSCA. I am fully aware of the ever-increasing financial pressure on schools, and we are doing all we can to minimise the additional expense that membership of IBSCA brings. I am pleased to say we have frozen our membership fees at 2018 levels and continue to work to ensure you can see the benefit associated with your financial outlay. The benefits of membership of IBSCA are considerable and, I feel, represent excellent value for money. 

Alongside membership of the largest Association of IB schools in the world, you also enjoy the following benefits:  

1. Discounts off each registration for our conferences and IB authorised workshops

This represents a significant saving, and we also endeavour to make sure that our Workshops are the most affordable available for our members. We are ever conscious that the cost of training is a burden on many schools, and hopefully, the continued development of online provision will provide even more cost-effective training for your staff. Currently, full membership represents a possible saving of £160 per delegate. I believe that this alone makes membership of the Association a prudent decision. 

2. Access to our members-only Seminars and Briefings.

These are provided free to members and we hold 10 per year covering a range of DP/CP and whole-programme topics. Seminars are typically 3 hours and we use our network of workshop leaders to ensure that the material covered is the most up-to-date it can be and the presenters are leaders in their fields.

3. Access to our virtual Programme Communities for PYP, MYP, CP and DP 

Our excellent Programme Leaders offer a range of activities throughout the year, both virtual and face-to-face. For coordinators and teachers, these are a highly effective way of ensuring peer-to-peer collaboration and the sharing of best practice.

4. Access to one of our DP Regional Hubs depending on the location of your school 

5. A listing for your school on our website

Aside from the events we organise, the Association also provides an excellent vehicle to represent the views of schools to the IB Organization. Experience shows that it is important that we act collaboratively and collectively to best represent the needs and interests of all IB schools in the UK and Ireland. We have built strong links with IB Global Recognition, IB Assessment and IB World Schools, and we are currently engaged in a number of collaborative projects with the IB to develop the support available to schools and also to raise the profile of the IB in the UK and Ireland.

IBSCA is well placed as we embark upon the new academic year and I hope that the above has persuaded you of the merits and benefits of continued membership of the Association. I look forward to working with you over the coming year. 

Yours sincerely

Richard Markham

Chief Executive Officer