Career-related Programme (CP)

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We would like to inform you of an important update regarding the International Baccalaureate (IB) program pathways offered at Catholic Central. The current Grade 10 students (entering Grade 11 in the 2025-2026 school year) will be the last IB class that will be able to choose the IB Career-Related Programme. Beginning with the current Grade 9 students (entering Grade 11 in the 2026–2027 school year), the IB Career-Related Programme (IBCP) will no longer be available as a pathway option.

Moving forward, students will be able to pursue either the IB Full Diploma Programme or IB Courses as part of their high school experience.

This decision was not made lightly. Many factors were carefully considered, including student interest, scheduling constraints, and alignment with our long-term vision for IB programming at Catholic Central. We remain committed to providing a rigorous and supportive IB experience that meets the diverse needs and aspirations of all students.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss how these changes may affect your child's academic planning, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Sincerely,

Carla Mascherin

IB Coordinator

Program Rationale

We are aiming to prepare learners 16-19 for the increased demands by both university/colleges and employers for internationally minded young adults. In order for the Canada to thrive in the global economy of the 21st century and be able to embrace unknown challenges, your generation will need to have certain attributes besides subject knowledge and skills. The IB Career-related Programme provides both the breadth and flexibility that students want and will develop qualities that university/colleges and employers need.

In a (global) multicultural society, it is essential that students preparing for employment (directly or after university/college) develop a good understanding of world issues and contexts and an understanding of their responsibilities as global citizens. The IBCP prepares students for flexibility and mobility in a range of employment opportunities as well as for lifelong learning.

The IBCP’s flexible educational framework allows schools to meet the needs, backgrounds and contexts of students. Each school creates its own distinctive version of the IBCP. The IB CP consists of academic and vocational courses, supported by the Core. It is the Core, which will make the difference and will prepare learners for challenges and opportunities during their career.

Find out more about the CP.

Learn more about students in the CP.

Course Options

Pathway	Group	Grade 11	Grade 12
Core	Language Development	French (grade 10 or 11) or Spanish
	Co-op	Co-op
	Personal Professional Skills	World religions	Philosophy or Religion

SHSM	Grade 11	Grade 12
LEAP – Health and Wellness	Healthy & Active Living SL	Kinesiology SL
LEAP – Health and Wellness	Biology HL	Biology HL and Science HL
LEAP – Sports Management	Health & Active Living SL	Kinesiology SL
LEAP – Sports Management	Financial Accounting HL	Business Leadership HL
Non-Profit	English HL	English HL and Studies in Literature HL
Non-Profit	American History HL	World History HL
Arts and Culture	English HL	English HL and Studies in Literature HL
Arts and Culture	Music (String or Vocal) HL or Visual Art HL	Music (String or Vocal) HL or Visual Art HL
Environmental Leadership Program (ELP)	Environmental Systems SL and Environment and Resource Mgmt SL
Environmental Leadership Program (ELP)	Biology HL	Biology HL and Science HL
Hospitality & Tourism	English HL	English HL and Studies in Literature HL
Hospitality & Tourism	Chemistry SL	Chemistry SL
Aviation	English HL	English HL and Studies in Literature HL
Aviation	Physics HL	Physics HL and Science HL
STEM (choose only 2 subjects)	Advanced Functions SL	Calculus & Vectors SL/HL or Data Management SL
	Chemistry SL or Environmental Systems and Environment and Resource Mgmt SL	Chemistry SL
	Biology HL or Physics HL	Biology HL and Science HL Physics HL and Science HL

Read about the CP curriculum.

Career-Related Programme Assessment Criteria

IBCP Assessment Criteria

To be awarded the IB Career-Related Certificate, students must:

Achieve a minimum grade of 3 (out of 7) for two IB diploma subjects
Complete the Co-op course successfully
Achieve a minimum grade D for Reflective Project
Complete the Language development course
Complete the Personal and Professional skills course (World Religions, Philosophy)
Complete the requirements for Service Learning diploma

Diploma programme (DP) courses within the CP are assessed in accordance with rigorous international standards. They feature both internal assessments and an external examination. Internal assessment tasks are set by the IB and assessed by teachers. Samples are submitted to the IB for moderation. Students taking written examinations in May of Year 2 (grade 12), which are marked by external IB examiners. Grades awards for each course range from 1 to 7.

Find out more about CP assessment and exams.

Citing and Referencing

Type	Description	Example
Referencing	Acknowledging sources cited or used in your work, for example an essay or assignment, and allows those who read your work to verify your sources	(Pears and Shields, 2013)
Bibiolography	List of all materials and sources used in your work
Quotations	If you use exact words from a text, they should be put in quotation marks Information provided: Last name, Year of Publication, Page number	Headington (2002, p.48) states that one or more learning objectives are ideal. It has been suggested that one or more learning objectives are ideal (Headington, 2002, p.48).
Summarising, paraphrasing	Use your own words to put what the author is saying Information provided: Last name, Year of publication	Goble (2013) suggests that those new to knitting would benefit from finding a comfortable way to hold the needles. There are suggestions that that those new to knitting would benefit from finding a comfortable way to hold the needles (Goble, 2013).
Multiple Sources	When referring to two or more publications at the same time use semicolons (;) to separate them and in chronological order (earliest first). If some are published in the same year then these are placed in alphabetical order by author/editor.	Several studies on reading (Austin, 2014; Hall, 2014; Foreman, 2017) have looked at …

Reference List/Bibliography

Put all sources in alphabetical order by last of author or editor.
All authors/editors must be included
Do not separate different types of sources (websites, newspaper articles, books, etc)

Reference	Description	Example
Books (including ebooks)	Last name, first initial. (Year) Title. Edition. Place of publication: Name of Publisher	Headington, R. (2002) Monitoring, Assessment, Recording, Reporting and Accountability. 2nd edn. London: David Fulton Publishers Ltd
Journal article (printed, electronic)	Last name, first initial. (Year of publication) ‘Title of Article’, Title of Journal, volume number (month/season/), page numbers	Brown, O. (2011) Ways to Read, Literature Today, 27 (2), pp. 11-17.
Web Pages	Last name, first initial OR Name of Organization (year of publication, last updated) Title of Site. Available at URL (Accessed: date).	Health and Safety Executive (2014) Workers: Health and Safety. Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/workers/ (Accessed: 23 October 2016)
Newspaper Article	Last name, first initial. (Year) ‘Title of Article’, Name of Newspaper (regional edn), day and month, page number.	Foreman, E. (2017) ‘Holmesdale Read for Charity’, The Telegraph, 17 July, p.17

Adapted from: Smout, R. (2017) IBCP Student Handbook. The Holmstead School.