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IS there a way to teach world peace?
Marie Maurette, who wrote the framework for what is now known as the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IBD) in 1948, was convinced there was.
The former director of the International School of Geneva developed an education system promoting bilingualism and community service that would teach future generations to think from an international perspective.
History, she wrote, should not be taught as “a catalogue of national heroes and patriotic celebrations ... when introduced, it must be world history.”
It is perhaps unsurprising that her ground-breaking handbook, produced in the same year and city as the Geneva Convention, would catch the eye of Helena Kennedy, QC.
The human rights lawyer, who lives in Belsize Park, wanted her 16-year-old daughter Clio to study the course but the only place available was at an independent school more than 400 miles away from their home in South Wales.
Baroness Kennedy said: “The Atlantic College in Wales was very committed to education for peace. They teach you that the best way to stop conflict is to create an understanding of other people’s cultures. I have reservations about independent schools. They do not have a cross section of the community and have a very narrow social group.
“I wanted my daughter to go somewhere where she would meet people from all sorts of backgrounds. At Atlantic, they do this – they have refugees from Palestine and child soldiers from African camps. We were attracted to its ethos and because it ran the baccalaureate.
“Clio had been at Parliament Hill and she didn’t really want to narrow down her subjects after GCSEs. That is the great thing about IBD – its breadth. You focus on certain things, but you keep in touch with all the main subjects. Clio ended up doing a masters in medical anthropology and I think she would have dropped her sciences if she had gone down the A-level route.”
Students enter the Atlantic College, nestled in the picturesque grounds of a 12th-century castle in the Vale of Glamorgan, through a vast portcullis. They study in oak-panelled libraries and eat in an ancient stone-carved dining hall.
It may have a diverse intake but most parents are expected to pay fees and it is perhaps no wonder that the IB diploma programme has been branded elitist.
But New Labour’s education reforms, which have made schools more autonomous and free to experiment with the curriculum, mean it is now available in dozens of state-funded colleges. University College London’s new academy is planning to take IBD students and Camden School for Girls already runs them.
City and Islington College in Holloway is the latest to be accredited with courses starting next September.
Baroness Kennedy said: “I am so pleased that the IBD will be available to students in a college like City and Islington. City and Islington attracts large numbers of students from all over London, with very diverse backgrounds.
“It is very good news that sixth-form students there will have this opportunity.
“All students considering their options for sixth-form study should think about the benefits it offers. It’s so much more than just a qualification.”
Melissa March, IBD co-ordinator at City and Islington, added: “It’s great news for the college to be able to offer the IBD programme, which is widely respected by universities all over   the world.”
TOM FOOT