Rites of passage
For them, May spells ironing and dressing up in their best duds and scurrying off to school for perhaps the most important exam of their lives. To the majority of test takers this rite of passage is known as the "maturity" exam (matura), while for the more ambitious it's the international maturity exam, or the International Baccalaureate (IB).
"The International Baccalaureate is a two-year international educational program," said Krzysztof Kafel of the Education Ministry. "After this program, a student can take a final exam, which is the International Baccalaureate."
The founder of the IB program is the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), a non-profit educational institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. Included among its educational programs is a two-year diploma for high school students that is intended to prepare them for local or international university study. The IBO, founded in the 1960s, grew out of the efforts of international schools to establish a common curriculum as well as university-entry credentials for "geographically mobile" students.
"We started this experiment (the IB program) in 1993," Kafel said. "And the Education Ministry decided to implement the program in two schools."
Initially, the IBO agreed to set up its program in just two Polish schools: the Mikolaj Kopernik 33rd High School in Warsaw and the Navy 3rd High School in Gdynia. To date, however, there are five high schools in Poland that work in conjunction with the IBO and have produced nearly 200 International Baccalaureate graduates.
While in Poland the idea of an international university preparatory school is still new, there are about 800 IBO-related schools worldwide, which graduate 20,000-30,000 students annually.
At the Mikolaj Kopernik 33rd High School, 27 IB students have just finished exams and now await their scores. But the atmosphere at the school remains tense because 86 other students still have to cope with the Polish matura - they have taken two written exams already and now have to pass three oral language and subject exams.
Pawel Stremski had his English oral exam last Thursday. "I got that stupid article about Indian food to analyze," Stremski said, adding that the exam was a piece of cake. His colleague, though, Diana Szafran, had to discuss the Holocaust.
Szafran said she had tried to qualify for the IB program two years ago but failed. "I don't regret it now," she said.
"The International Baccalaureate is less interesting," Stremski said, comparing the atmosphere of the Polish maturity exam to its international equivalent. "Our exams are more difficult but we have the same brains, maybe better."
Kopernik's IB exam was the fifth International Baccalaureate to be held there. So far about 100 students have graduated from the program and enrollment next fall will include about one-third of 90 applicants.
"The competition (to get in) is strong," said Gralyna Kania, Kopernik's deputy director and IB coordinator. "There were about three people fighting for one place."
Joanna Tyrowicz was one of the winners in the battle for a position in the program two years ago and just last week finished her International Baccalaureate exam. In addition to that exam she decided to take the Polish "matura" as the lone student among IB enrollees this year. She said she took part in the international program because of her future ambitions.
"I thought it would develop me greatly," Tyrowicz said. "It seemed to be interesting and new."
"The International Baccalaureate is a two-year international educational program," said Krzysztof Kafel of the Education Ministry. "After this program, a student can take a final exam, which is the International Baccalaureate."
The founder of the IB program is the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), a non-profit educational institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. Included among its educational programs is a two-year diploma for high school students that is intended to prepare them for local or international university study. The IBO, founded in the 1960s, grew out of the efforts of international schools to establish a common curriculum as well as university-entry credentials for "geographically mobile" students.
"We started this experiment (the IB program) in 1993," Kafel said. "And the Education Ministry decided to implement the program in two schools."
Initially, the IBO agreed to set up its program in just two Polish schools: the Mikolaj Kopernik 33rd High School in Warsaw and the Navy 3rd High School in Gdynia. To date, however, there are five high schools in Poland that work in conjunction with the IBO and have produced nearly 200 International Baccalaureate graduates.
While in Poland the idea of an international university preparatory school is still new, there are about 800 IBO-related schools worldwide, which graduate 20,000-30,000 students annually.
At the Mikolaj Kopernik 33rd High School, 27 IB students have just finished exams and now await their scores. But the atmosphere at the school remains tense because 86 other students still have to cope with the Polish matura - they have taken two written exams already and now have to pass three oral language and subject exams.
Pawel Stremski had his English oral exam last Thursday. "I got that stupid article about Indian food to analyze," Stremski said, adding that the exam was a piece of cake. His colleague, though, Diana Szafran, had to discuss the Holocaust.
Szafran said she had tried to qualify for the IB program two years ago but failed. "I don't regret it now," she said.
"The International Baccalaureate is less interesting," Stremski said, comparing the atmosphere of the Polish maturity exam to its international equivalent. "Our exams are more difficult but we have the same brains, maybe better."
Kopernik's IB exam was the fifth International Baccalaureate to be held there. So far about 100 students have graduated from the program and enrollment next fall will include about one-third of 90 applicants.
"The competition (to get in) is strong," said Gralyna Kania, Kopernik's deputy director and IB coordinator. "There were about three people fighting for one place."
Joanna Tyrowicz was one of the winners in the battle for a position in the program two years ago and just last week finished her International Baccalaureate exam. In addition to that exam she decided to take the Polish "matura" as the lone student among IB enrollees this year. She said she took part in the international program because of her future ambitions.
"I thought it would develop me greatly," Tyrowicz said. "It seemed to be interesting and new."
