GenevaLunch - [Updated May 3, 08:00: La Châtaigneraie and La Grande Boissière, two campuses of the International School of Geneva, have about 275 students registered for IB exams this year. In all, 876 students do the exams this month in Switzerland.]
Students at 24 international schools in Switzerland head back to the classroom today to start International Baccalaureate (IB) exams. The exams are, for many, the key to university acceptance.
IB classes at La Chataigneraie in Founex, one of the largest IB schools, ended a week ago to allow students time to prepare for the notoriously tough exams which cover two years of study.
The cramming and madcap messaging with last minute questions is over, at least for the first exams. Parties and memories of last week's noisy Prank Day by the final year class have given way to somber thoughts of exams.
Students who are trying to obtain the IB diploma have examinations in six subjects. For many subjects students have more than one exam; the last one is May 23.
The IBO examines students throughout the world on the same day. The schedule(pdf) shows dates for papers by subject and whether they are given in the morning or afternoon. Precise start and end times are given to students by each school.