A Levels or IB?

CAS = Creativity Action Service
i.e. the hours you spend on doing a creative activity, a sports activity and an activity that helps others in some way. You have to do a certain number of hours' worth over 18 months and write up reflections on your learning points from those activities

I did the IB myself and my daughter will start it in September.

I personally think that the key characteristic for an IBer is not necessarily to have good all-round grades but to be someone who loves to learn and think and is resilient. The IB enables you to improve beyond measure in areas you never thought possible but you must be enthusiastic and willing to dig in. It's not a qualification that you can do half-heartedly.

As a PP commented, you also need to be someone who can get themselves organised and push through. There are reflections and internal assessments to be completed and these must be done along the way.

The extended essay is quite a bit of work but you can formulate your own question so get to focus on exactly what interests you. (It doesn't have to be highbrow! A friend of mine wrote hers on sexual stereotyping in Mills & Boon novels 😂). The great thing about the EE is that it then also gives you a topic you know in detail and can talk about at uni interviews.

My DD is also not so strong in Maths so she'll be doing it at SL. She fortunately already has a second language but, if not, would opt for Spanish ab initio, which is generally considered doable.

I personally think that the IB was one of the best things I ever did. The ToK part was a struggle for me at the time but it really teaches you to think hard about and question concepts that you might otherwise take for granted (e.g. classification: how does it help or hinder our learning?). Plus, it made me so organised that my first year of uni was a breeze! And universities love it!

Not only do unis like it, unis in foreign countries like it too if she wants to study abroad I'm not sure of funding since Brexit but some German and Swedish universities teach in English.

I think it’s a vg qualification, but a huge amount of work: 6 subjects, theory of knowledge, extended essay and the cas requirements. It does not suit students who ‘cram ‘ as you need to complete the cas work over 18 months and write reflections as you go along. My ds took HL chemistry, maths and biology and sl German, geography and English and achieved a 43. Some people may argue that the HL courses cannot be as detailed as a level and therefore a level is preferable for university. My ds did not study any of his IB subjects at uni and therefore I cannot comment on that, but worth checking

Unis really like it, it’s a fab qualification. I would definitely choose it for my own if offered locally.

Far more rounded and less restricted than 3 a levels.

Caveat, if child knows exactly what they want to study at uni then a levels MAY work better. But for those unsure it’s a fabulous option.

Re the maths she can study at standard level which should be easier