Students' Experiences

IB World School

Our Unusual Life

Vitan Blagotinšek
IB student 2011-2013

Have you ever felt something so powerful that urges you to try something new and unknown, different and demanding, but liberating at the same time?

That was the feeling that many of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme students at Gimnazija Kranj had when deciding about joining the programme quite different to the Slovene national programme. By becoming a part of the IB class at Gimnazija Kranj we met new friends, schoolmates and teachers, our lessons were taught in English for the first time, which was the cause of a few very interesting problems that we took care of with great speed; never before had we participated in a programme of education carried out in English. During the last few months we have found out that the IB Diploma Programme demands and requires complete commitment and dedication – but the results of hard work are truly marvellous to behold. The subject of Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) requires us to participate in various activities and enables us to pursue our interests outside the normal extent of schoolwork. The IB students at Gimnazija Kranj are also known to be highly possessive of our classrooms, (no. 1 and 2) – classroom no. 2 is actually scheduled to be completely renovated by us students, which will truly make it feel like home.

When we decided to join the IB Diploma Programme, we knew that the path that lay in front of us would offer us many challenges, but we also knew that we would always be there for each other and that we would support each other should the need arise.

As the American poet Robert Frost once wrote: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by." If you so wish, some of you students out there that are considering the possibility of joining the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme this year may want to take the road "less travelled by". I assure you, you will be more than satisfied by such a choice.