IB Digital Society (Block D)

Applications Open: - Friday 7 November 2025

Applications Close: - Sunday 15 February 2026

Entry Requirements: - Dependent on course

How to Apply: - Please visit our website to make your application using the Applicaa system https://www.welcometonsfg.org.uk/sixthform/

Student profile

An IB DS student must be world minded, curious and analytical. They need to have a passion for technology and digital solutions and keep up with current news in this area. Students should feel confident in their technical understanding and interpersonal skills to fully grasp the depth of understanding nurtured by this course.

Why this course?

Digital Society focuses on understanding the role of digital media in everyday life, and new and emerging technologies contribute to patterns of human behaviour, social relationships, and concepts of the self.

Throughout the course, students are encouraged to explore new technologies, investigate the impact they will have on various societal groups, reflect on the direction of future developments and share these discoveries with others.

This course requires some technical understanding of how technologies work and interact but does not require, nor teach, any programming skills. The course aims to provide students with a strong foundational knowledge of the impact

of technology that is relevant across all industries and careers.

Students will holistically look at a selection of concepts, content and context and develop understanding of how these themes interact and affect society.

Concepts: Change, Expression, Identity, Power, Space, Systems, Values and Ethics.

Content: Data, Algorithms, Computers, Networks/the Internet, Media, Artificial Intelligence, Robots/Autonomous Tech

Contexts: Cultural, Economic, Environmental, Health, Human Knowledge, Political, Social.

This course is Higher Level only

External: Paper 1 (2h15m) – 35%, Paper 2 (1h15m) – 20%, Paper 3 (1h15m) – 25%. Internal Assessment – 20%.

The Internal Assessment is an investigative project that students begin in Term 5 of Year 12 and finish at Christmas of Year 13. Each student must devise a question about the impact of technology on an area of society, then proceed to investigate this question using primary and secondary research and present their findings in a max. 10-min video essay.

GENERIC IB ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: 5 GCSE'S 4-9, including English Language

SUBJECT SPECIFIC ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: 5 Grades 4-9 including English Language

IB DS provides students with the strong technical knowledge in an ever-changing landscape of technology. It will prepare students to understand the impacts that their decisions have on society. This knowledge helps students navigate the world of technology across all digital industries.