Hockerill Anglo-European College celebrates new sixth-form centre and 25 years of IB

Hockerill Anglo-European College students and staff have celebrated completion of the secondary school’s new sixth-form centre.

The official opening coincided with the 25th anniversary of pupils studying the globally recognised International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma.

The programme has provided an alternative to A-levels for the Dunmow Road secondary’s Year 12 and 13 students since 1998.

Hockerill principal David Woods thanked all those who helped to deliver the sixth form centre and said: “The IB is a challenging programme for students who aspire to be compassionate global citizens of the future. We now have a facility that will match those aspirations and we can’t wait to see how it inspires our students to even better things.”

The opening ceremony was attended by Adrian Kearney, director of IB World Schools, and Proserpina Dhlamini-Fisher, IB World Schools’ senior manager.

There are 5,700 IB schools around the world teaching 1.9 million students. Mr Kearney said that he was proud to represent the diploma and reminded students they were part of a global community.

The students have warmly welcomed the new centre, which features study, social and collaborative workspaces. “It’s so great,” one said. “We feel like university students and can’t wait to come in the mornings and get started.”

All pictures by Vikki Lince