At the heart of the International Baccalaureate programme is its mission to promote intercultural understanding and create more globally minded citizens. Global Politics, introduced as an IB pilot course in 2012, was created with this mission in mind. In 2013, Bermuda High School was authorised, as one of a select group of IB schools, to offer the course, which will not be offered mainstream until 2015.

Global Politics is a dynamic and stimulating subject which draws on a variety of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. The course explores fundamental political concepts such as power, liberty and equality, in a range of contexts and at a variety of levels.

The International Baccalaureate Organisation says the new course was developed in collaboration with educators and consultants with diverse experience and expertise, and has also drawn inspiration from the success of existing politics-focused, school-based syllabus. It enables students to develop an understanding of all levels of political activity, whether at the local, international or global level and to explore political issues affecting their own lives.

BHS has previously offered courses which tackle global affairs. Most recently the school offered “Peace and Conflict Studies” (PACs) which covered similar material.

Students can analyse and study issues as they are occurring. Current affairs and conflicts are discussed in lessons every day, with debate and discussion occurring with students from all over the world. The crisis in Syria, or the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, are present examples of real time events upon which to focus.

When Aldon Campbell, 15, enrolled at BHS in September 2013 he was excited to see such a unique course on offer for the students. Aldon decided to take the course at higher level and explained that he thoroughly enjoys the classroom experience and has developed a more “worldly perspective” as a result.

“Global politics has allowed me to explore concepts and theories that are relevant to our time,” he says. “Ultimately, I have a more informed and critical perspective when viewing issues in politics today.”

BHS alumna Alicia Kirby, 13, took the PACs course during her time in the IB programme and participated in a Model United Nations (MUN) conference in The Hague, the Netherlands. This experience cemented her love of International Affairs and she is now studying International Development and Global Justice at Leiden University Honors College in The Hague, the Netherlands.

“I believe that the Peace and Conflict studies course had a major impact on deciding what I wanted to study,” she says. “It helped to highlight and define my passion for this area of study.”

She also says the PACs course helped smooth her transition from BHS into university: “The things that I learned were invaluable skills that gave me a head start over the rest of the first year university students. Everything I learned in PACs, I was taught again in my first year of university. I definitely see the value of theory from Peace and Conflict studies when analysing current political issues, whether they are small group conflicts and larger global issues.”

The new Global Politics course provides students with an exciting educational avenue that will always be relevant, because it mirrors society and will, therefore, be constantly evolving.

“I think Global Politics is for everyone,” says Alexa Manuel, 15, who is currently enrolled in the course at standard level. “Gaining knowledge about the changing power structure in our world today will be useful to me no matter what I choose to study in university; it’s knowledge that we all should have.”

Courses like Global Politics align well with BHS’s mission of fostering confident, responsible global citizens and it is a testament to the success of the IB Programme at BHS that the school was chosen to pilot this course.