IB in Pune: the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma Programmes explained

The IB Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma Programmes are three stages of one International Baccalaureate education. The Primary Years Programme (PYP) is for ages 3 to 12, roughly Nursery to Class 5; the Middle Years Programme (MYP) is for ages 11 to 16, roughly Classes 6 to 10; and the Diploma Programme (DP) is for ages 16 to 19, which in India means Classes 11 and 12. Pune has IB World Schools running all three, but a school is authorised for each programme separately, so the IB name on a school's gate tells you less than it seems to.

This guide explains each programme in plain terms, with the Indian class each year roughly matches, how to check what a school is actually authorised to teach, what to ask about admission, what moving in from CBSE or ICSE feels like, and where a tutor helps. Many IB schools in India say Grade rather than Class; this guide uses Class throughout. The IB also runs a fourth programme, the Career-related Programme for ages 16 to 19, but far fewer schools in India offer it than the Diploma, so it is left out here.

IB PYP, MYP and DP at a glance

The IB Primary Years Programme (PYP)

The PYP is the IB's programme for ages 3 to 12. Instead of separate chapters in separate textbooks, children work through units of inquiry, each running for several weeks, under six transdisciplinary themes such as who we are and sharing the planet. Language, maths, science and the other subjects are taught inside and alongside those units.

There are no IB exams in the PYP. Teachers assess through the year and report to you in the school's own format. In the final year, which is about Class 5 where a school's PYP ends there, children take part in the PYP exhibition: a collaborative inquiry into a real-world issue that matters to them, which they research, document and present to the school community.

Parents often notice the homework first: more open questions and conversations at home, fewer drills. That suits many children, but with no tests to flag it, a child who is slipping in reading, spelling or number facts can go unnoticed for a while. Reading together every day and short, regular maths practice matter as much in an IB school as in any other. If reading is the worry, our page on phonics and reading tutors explains what good help looks like at this age.

The IB Middle Years Programme (MYP)

The IB Middle Years Programme is a five-year programme for ages 11 to 16, so MYP Year 1 is roughly Class 6 and MYP Year 5 roughly Class 10. It is a framework rather than a fixed syllabus: the IB sets the subject groups, aims and assessment criteria, and each school writes its own units within them.

• Eight subject groups: language acquisition, language and literature, individuals and societies, sciences, mathematics, arts, physical and health education, and design. Schools teach at least 50 hours in each group every year, and in Years 4 and 5 students can take six of the eight.
• Interdisciplinary learning: at least one unit every year connects two or more subject groups.
• Criteria, not marks out of 100: most subjects are assessed against four criteria, each with levels from 0 to 8. In maths, for example, they are knowing and understanding, investigating patterns, communicating, and applying mathematics in real-life contexts. The levels are added up and converted to a final grade from 1 to 7.
• The personal project: every student who completes the MYP in Year 5 carries out a project of their own choosing and writes it up in a report. The school assesses it, and the IB moderates the marks.
• The community project: where a school's MYP ends in Year 3 or Year 4, students complete a community project, centred on service, instead.

MYP eAssessment is optional

Whether your child sits any external IB assessment in the MYP depends on the school. MYP eAssessment is optional for schools, open only to students in Year 5, and made up of on-screen exams in some subjects and ePortfolios of coursework in others. Students who complete the required eAssessments and the personal project, scoring at least 28 points out of 56 with no grade below 3, can receive the IB MYP certificate, provided they also meet the school's service as action requirements. The IB asks that students are in the programme for its final year, and recommends two years.

If a school does not use eAssessment, ask what your child will have at the end of Class 10, and what a CBSE school or junior college would accept from them if they move to an Indian board for Classes 11 and 12.

Shorter MYPs, and IGCSE before the Diploma

Ask how many MYP years a school runs. The IB can allow a shorter MYP of at least two consecutive years, and some schools pair the PYP with Cambridge IGCSE in Classes 9 and 10 instead of the MYP, then move students into the Diploma. That route is common in Indian international schools, and our IB vs IGCSE guide explains how the two fit together and what changes in the step up to the Diploma.

The IB Diploma Programme (DP)

The IB Diploma Programme is a two-year course for ages 16 to 19, taken in Classes 11 and 12, and it is the IB's school-leaving qualification. Students take six subjects, one from each of six groups (the arts can be swapped for another subject), three or four at higher level and the rest at standard level. On top of those sits the core: theory of knowledge (TOK), assessed through an essay and an exhibition; the extended essay, independent research of up to 4,000 words; and creativity, activity, service (CAS), which is not scored but must be completed.

Every subject has an internal assessment, marked by the teacher and moderated by the IB, and the rest of the result comes from exams at the end of Class 12, in May for most schools in India. Each subject is scored 1 to 7, and TOK and the extended essay together add up to 3 more, for a maximum of 45. The Diploma needs at least 24 points, plus other conditions. Students can also take individual DP courses without the full Diploma, but that is a different case for Indian admissions, so check before going that way.

How to check which IB programmes a Pune school offers

Look the school up on the IB's own Find an IB World School directory on ibo.org, by name or by filtering for country (India), state (Maharashtra) and programme. The listing shows which programmes the school is authorised for, and since authorisation is granted programme by programme, check each one your child will need, not just that the school appears.

• Authorised means the IB has approved the school to teach that programme, and the school is an IB World School for it.
• Candidate means the school is working towards authorisation. The IB requires candidate schools to say so, and to state that candidate status gives no guarantee that authorisation will be granted. Ask what the school's plan is if it takes longer than expected.
• Classes 6 to 10 are where to look closely. At this stage an IB school may follow the MYP, Cambridge IGCSE, or one and then the other, and the choice shapes how your child is taught and assessed for five years.

IB MYP admission in Pune: what to ask

You apply to the school, not to the IB. Each school runs its own MYP and Diploma admissions, with its own timeline, entry assessment and fees. Shortlist two or three schools that are authorised for the programme you need, and take these questions on each visit, so you compare them on the same terms.

The programme

• Which IB programmes are you authorised for, and since when? Does your MYP run all five years?
• Do you use MYP eAssessment in Year 5? If not, what will my child have at the end of Class 10?
• Which Diploma subjects, and which at higher level, do you actually run? Not every school offers every subject.
• How do students who join from CBSE, ICSE or the State Board settle in, and what support is there in their first term?

Entry and languages

• What does the entry assessment involve: a written test, an interview, a look at past reports, or a mix? In which subjects?
• Can my child join part-way, for example in MYP Year 4, and how do you decide?
• Which languages do you offer in language acquisition, and at what level would my child start?
• How is Marathi taught and assessed for my child's class? Under a 2020 Maharashtra law it is compulsory from Class 1 to Class 10 in every school in the state, IB schools included.

Fees

• What is the annual fee for each year through to Class 12, and how has it changed in recent years?
• What one-time charges apply, such as admission, registration or a refundable deposit?
• Are IB registration and exam fees for the Diploma, and for MYP eAssessment if you use it, included or billed separately?
• What else is extra: transport, meals, trips, CAS activities, a laptop?
• What is the refund policy if we withdraw?

School fees vary too widely between IB schools for a single range to be useful, so compare the full cost to Class 12 for each school on your list. Our comparison of all five boards covers the Marathi rule and the best points to switch boards in more detail.

Moving from CBSE or ICSE into the MYP or Diploma

Moving from CBSE or ICSE into the IB is common, and the content is rarely the hard part. What takes adjusting is the way of working: open tasks instead of chapter-end questions, work judged against criteria rather than a single model answer, and deadlines spread through the term rather than exams at the end of it.

Expect the first term's grades to look lower than your child is used to, even when they understand the content. A strong CBSE student who writes a correct answer without explaining their reasoning can land at a middle level on a criterion that rewards communication. That usually improves once a child learns to read the criteria and the instructions on each task, and the teacher's written feedback is the place to start.

Into the Diploma after Class 10

After Class 10 is the most common point to move from CBSE or ICSE into the IB, because the Diploma starts a new two-year course. The jumps are higher-level maths and sciences, sustained writing for internal assessments and the extended essay, and managing six subjects alongside TOK and CAS. Ask the school about its entry expectations for higher-level subjects, choose subjects with likely degrees in mind, and if a move might fall part-way through Class 11 or 12, ask the school directly before you plan around it.

Does your child need extra help in the MYP or Diploma?

In both the MYP and the Diploma, a tutor helps most by teaching the subject and the assessment criteria together, so your child understands both the content and how their work will be judged. A tutor must never cross into doing the work: the IB requires the personal project, internal assessments, the extended essay and the TOK essay to be the student's own, and a teacher at school supervises the personal project and the extended essay. Ask at the first meeting how a tutor handles coursework, and expect a clear answer.

Not every IB child needs a tutor, and many manage with the school's support alone. A tutor earns their place when a specific gap persists: maths that has fallen behind, a recent move from another board, writing that does not yet meet the criteria, or a heavy Diploma year that needs structure. Publicly listed rates for IB tutoring in Pune are mostly ₹400 to ₹1,000 an hour; these are indicative third-party figures, not TutorUp data, and our home tuition fees guide explains what moves them. Our guide on how to choose a home tutor has the questions to ask, and the IB tutors in Pune page covers what to look for in an IB tutor, including for the two Diploma maths courses.

Is the IB recognised in India?

The IB Diploma is generally accepted for university entry in India when the Association of Indian Universities recognises it as equivalent to Class 12, subject to conditions such as the subjects taken. The PYP and MYP are not school-leaving qualifications, so recognition questions arise mainly at Class 10, if your child moves to an Indian board, and at Class 12. JEE and NEET set subject and marks rules of their own. Our IB vs IGCSE guide covers recognition in India and abroad in detail, and our guide to Class 12 boards and entrance exams covers the marks rules.

On TutorUp, you can post a requirement for free: choose IB as the board, add the class and subject, and use the note to name the programme and year, such as IB MYP Year 4 Maths or IB DP Chemistry HL. Verified tutors near your home can then apply, nearest first. A tutor who knows your child's exact programme and level may not live nearby, so if you're open to online classes, choose Online or Either is fine and verified online tutors from anywhere in India can see it too. Verification means a person on the TutorUp team checked the tutor's identity; it is not a police or background check, so read how verification works and meet the tutor before sessions start. You pay the tutor directly, and TutorUp takes no commission.