IB Higher Level at a private school: managing six subjects and the core

What does the IB Diploma actually ask of a student?

It asks for six subjects and three core components over two years. According to the IB's description of the Diploma Programme curriculum, each student takes a minimum of three and a maximum of four subjects at Higher Level, with the rest at Standard Level. The IB recommends 240 teaching hours for each HL subject and 150 for each SL subject.

The core sits on top of that. The IB lists three required components: Theory of Knowledge (TOK), where students reflect on how we know what we claim to know; the Extended Essay, an independent piece of research that ends in a 4,000-word paper; and Creativity, activity, service (CAS), with activities across all three strands.

Those figures are teaching hours, before homework, Internal Assessments, TOK, the Extended Essay, and CAS. A fourth HL subject adds about 90 hours of content, so it is worth taking only when a university programme needs it or the student truly wants it.

Why is HL harder to manage at a private school?

Because the time is already spoken for. Many independent schools pair the IB with a long school day, frequent tests, and co-curricular commitments, some of which can also count toward CAS. The courses themselves follow the same IB subject guides as anywhere else, but evenings are shorter and a missed week is harder to win back.

HL courses also assume earlier topics are secure. In IB Math Analysis and Approaches HL, for example, calculus questions draw on functions and algebra learned months earlier. A unit that was only half understood in the autumn of Year 1 usually shows up again in Year 2, often in a harder form.

How should a student plan the week?

Start with fixed blocks, then fill the rest. A plan that works for many students looks like this:

1. Give each HL subject at least two fixed study blocks a week outside class, even in weeks with no test. This is where practice problems and review of last week's lessons happen.
2. Give each SL subject one fixed block, plus extra time before its assessments.
3. Schedule one weekly block for the core, alternating between the Extended Essay and TOK. Treat it like a class that cannot be cancelled.
4. Log CAS as it happens, a few minutes after each activity, rather than reconstructing it months later.
5. Keep one flexible evening for whatever is due next. If that evening is always full, the plan is too tight and something needs to change.

Write the school's assessment calendar into the same plan at the start of each term. When three deadlines fall in one week, the student can see it a month ahead and start early, instead of discovering it on Sunday night.

How do students keep the core from taking over?

By breaking each piece into small, dated steps. The Extended Essay is the clearest example. Students who wait for a free weekend rarely find one. Students who agree a research question, a reading list, and a first section with their supervisor, each with a date, finish with far less stress. The IB has published a new Extended Essay guide for first assessment in 2027, so check with the school's Extended Essay coordinator which guide and criteria apply to your year.

TOK works the same way. According to the IB's TOK subject brief, it is assessed by an essay on one of six titles prescribed by the IB, worth two thirds of the TOK grade, and an exhibition of three objects with commentaries, worth one third. Both reward ideas developed over time, so short weekly notes on knowledge questions that come up in other subjects make the final essay much easier to write.

The core also counts toward the score. The IB's passing criteria award between zero and three points for TOK and the Extended Essay together, and CAS must be completed for the diploma to be awarded.

What should happen when one HL subject starts to slip?

Act within two or three weeks, not at the end of term. Signs that a subject is slipping include marks dropping on two tests in a row, homework taking twice as long as it used to, or a student who can follow worked solutions but cannot start a problem alone.

The diploma rules make this matter. According to the IB's passing criteria, a student needs at least 24 points out of a possible 45, and at least 12 points across their HL subjects, along with other conditions the school's DP coordinator can explain. One weak HL subject can put both totals at risk, and predicted grades for university applications are usually set before the final exams.

The fix is usually narrow: find the one or two units that are not secure, rebuild them with worked practice, and then return to current material. Our article on IB Math AA vs AI can help if the problem is that the course itself is the wrong fit.

How Krsna Academy supports IB HL students

Krsna Academy tutors IB Diploma students one to one, online across Canada and in person in the Toronto area. A consistent tutor works from the school's unit plan and assessment calendar, closes gaps in HL math, physics, chemistry, or economics before they compound, and gives guidance on Internal Assessments and the Extended Essay within IB academic integrity rules. See IB tutoring for the subjects we cover, or private school tutoring for how we work alongside a demanding school.

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