The International Baccalaureate’s stock has reached new heights – both as a school-leaving qualification in its own right and as a benchmark for educational achievement across the board – as Fiona Leney reports.

Each time we’ve covered the International Baccalaureate (IB) in Relocate magazine over the last few years, we’ve noted the growth in its popularity. As more UK schools than ever before offer the IB Diploma – 219 in 2010, up 18 per cent on the year before – there are signs that both the educational and political establishments have recognised the strengths of a broader-based test of educational achievement.

There was uproar last year when Michael Gove, the Education Minister, introduced a new standard to measure the quality of teaching in secondary schools. The ‘English Baccalaureate’ is a certificate recognising the achievement of five GCSE passes in core subjects of the curriculum. The outrage that greeted it was over its retroactive timing – it led to many schools being demoted in the league tables – not over the concept that some sort of baccalaureate, recognising achievement in diverse subjects, was a sensible measure of good education.

Just to confuse matters further, the IB’s name has also been lent to the latest newcomer to the already-overcrowded field of post-16 qualifications – the AQA Bacc – which adds extra elements to the A levels a student might be taking anyway, to come up with an overarching qualification.

To gain the Bacc, students have to pass three A levels in any subjects, and an AS in general studies, critical thinking or citizenship. They also have to complete an extended project or dissertation and ‘enrichment activities’: work-related learning, community participation or personal development such as sport or music.

AQA, the exam authority offering the Bacc, says that it has been well received by the 100 schools and colleges which are trying it out. It certainly has the attraction of offering the depth of A-level study while allowing excellent students to distinguish themselves in the supplementary subjects. But it remains an A-level-based qualification and has yet to prove its popularity with university admissions officers.

Gold standard

The original IB diploma remains the baccalaureate gold standard, with its emphasis on breadth of study, the development of study skills and initiative, and, most importantly for globally mobile families, internationalism.

Kevin Skeoch, assistant head of school at North London International School (NLIS), which runs all three of the IB programmes, primary, middle years and diploma, says his school offers a truly international education.

Mr Skeoch believes that the IB, from entry to diploma level, encourages children to develop as individuals and independent learners. “Families choose NLIS because of the unity it holds (common international philosophy, common language, common assessment), the outward projection it develops in its children, and the links that are established both here in North London and throughout the world.

“IB schools stress the importance of learning, and continuing to learn, a second language in addition to their own mother tongue. They promote a depth of understanding in several subjects, without the option of limiting exposure to maths or science in the lead-up to university. They promote international understanding that is clearly witnessed through face-to-face interaction in the playground, but also in the fabric of our school community.”

London international schools, such as NLIS and the International Community School (ICS), in Regent’s Park, tend to have particularly high numbers of expatriate students – about half in NLIS and 85 per cent at ICS – because of their location, but they also draw in local families who want a different educational offering for their children.

ICS has started offering the IB diploma, in response to demand. “We already offered the early- and middle-years IB programme,” says Rose Threlfall, head of secondary school. “And, with 95 per cent of our students going on to universities around the world, the diploma is the icing on the cake.”

Beyond the capital

Because of its international connections, London has the lion’s share of IB schools, but a number of sought-after schools in northern England and Scotland have been offering the qualification for some time.

The International School of Aberdeen, many of whose students come from families which have relocated to the area because of the oil business, is actively encouraging local children to come to the school by offering discounted fees.

Oakham, a co-educational independent day and boarding school in Rutland, has offered the IB alongside A levels for ten years. Its director of IB, Simone Lorenz-Weir, says that the attractions of the course, and the philosophy underpinning it, have made it an attractive option, even for students who have no international connections.

“Some students cannot narrow down their subjects to just four A levels, some really see the sense in the skills that they will learn (independent research, writing, presenting, thinking, and so on), and some simply like the holistic aspect of it. Some students are also incredibly curious and like doing something different,” she says.

Ms Lorenz-Weir says that about a third of the cohort is international, two thirds are UK students and quite a few are local.

“Some parents choose Oakham for entry at ten, 11 or 13 because we offer both IB and A level, but we see a big demand for places to do the IB in the sixth form each year,” she says, adding that the fact that many students are now looking beyond the UK for university, and the IB’s excellent reputation in the US, plays a big part.

“Some of our UK students are now also looking to countries where the teaching language is English,” she adds. “Maastricht is excellent in the Netherlands, and we have even had a letter from their admissions tutor to say how much they like IB students from Oakham.”

Passport to university?

The appeal of the IB to universities, both in the UK and abroad, is underlined by Manchester Grammar School (MGS), which ranks as one of the top schools in the country academically, with high numbers of students gaining places at Oxbridge each year.

“The IB is often chosen by students at MGS because it is seen as a more challenging qualification,” says Michal Lowe, director of IB at MGS. While she says that there is no typical IB student at MGS, Ms Lowe has found that students who have their sights set on university in the US seem drawn to the IB.

“There is a lot of evidence to support the fact that US universities rate IB candidates highly – sometimes accepting them straight into the second year of the course – given the quality of the IB programme,” she says.

One of the traditional objections to the IB used to be that admissions tutors found the points system of marking the diploma difficult to understand, but, as time has passed, this is no longer the case. Both Ms Lorenz-Weir and Ms Lowe believe that universities not only understand the system well but actually value it, because it allows them to distinguish the very best students from the best in a way that A levels no longer do.

As to the other often-voiced doubt about the IB, that it is only suited to the more able child, Ms Lorenz-Weir gives the argument short shrift. “We are convinced that the IB is an excellent route to university also for students who are not always at the very top academically. 30–35 points (45 points equal full marks) get students into excellent, if not Russell Group, universities, and even students who do not achieve beyond 30 points are looked at favourably by many good universities,” she says.

“The universities value what the students bring with them: an ability to recognise deadlines and work within them, their literacy and numeracy, and their ability to present their ideas verbally in front of an audience and to work in teams.”

It is a view endorsed by Ms Threlfall, whose school provides extra support for the 15 per cent of its children with mild to moderate special needs. “The IB is very good for all abilities. I’ve seen very average students get full marks with the excellent support that we can offer. The IB provides an alternative way of learning for them,” she says.

For students who have English as a second language, ICS runs a one-year diploma support programme, which prepares them for the two-year IB diploma course. “In essence, that makes it a three-year diploma,” says Ms Threlfall. She adds that, even if students can’t take the full diploma, because of language or academic timing problems, they can still obtain certificates in individual subjects that many universities accept.

“As the school’s university counsellor, I’ve seen universities open up to the IB in an incredible way,” she says.

 

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© 2011. Article taken from the spring 2011 edition of Re:locate magazine, published by Profile Locations, Spray Hill, Hastings Road, Lamberhurst, Kent  TN3 8JB. All rights reserved. This publication (or any part thereof) may not be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of Profile Locations. Profile Locations accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein.