IB or A Levels

Husband (Deputy Head) just said "Very prentious to to the IB in Britain".

Yeah and that’s fair enough. The upsides for me were a broader range of interesting subjects to keep me engaged with school, the world literature which was very cool, and a tight social group with the other students. It doesn’t confer advantages in terms of uni, that wouldn’t be a good reason. In fact when I did it you got exactly zero points from UCAS!

My DD1 was an all rounder but still did A levels because the IB didn’t confer any advantage. She decided she did want to pursue MFL so being good at English, Maths, History etc meant she did make choices. There are few degrees where the breadth of IB is worth it. It certainly allows breadth but a maths degree won’t care what your Geography or MFL is like. So doing more subjects at IB can be great but it’s not necessary even for highly academic DC. My DD preferred to spend time singing, doing drama and other things at school that she enjoyed and were not leading to university.

Really interesting to read these. My kids school really pushed the IB, and it was considered a good choice as broader maybe not quite so rigorous!

I did the IB and I think it’s phenomenal but it does suit a more academically able child. I don’t know anyone who failed it so I wouldn’t let that bother you but it is rigorous and broad.

I did the IB, most friends did a levels albeit a while ago. The thing with IB is if you fail one subject you fail the whole thing, that’s the big stressor. I loved the range of subjects but some kids were pressured into it by parents and didn’t really like some of the subjects, and as I said above if you have a weak spot anywhere it’s really hard.

Personally I thought the CAS stuff was challenging but ok, extended essay was best practice ever for uni.

In short, if your daughter a) is a true all rounder with no difficult/hated subjects b) balances her workload ok c) really wants to do it, I’d say go for it. If not, A levels are a safer choice.

All of DS's friends doing the IB are having nervous breakdowns. It 's a huge amount of work. Do look into CAS, for instance. Also the extra writing.

I suppose it does cover all bases for a DC unsure of career, but A levels can do that too. For instance, your DD could take Maths ( a good subject for any career and one that works for economics later on), Geography or History ( Humanities subject) and Chemistry. This combination would allow her to take up a business, science or humanities career.

A levels allow greater specialisation if you are not great at a wider range of subjects. Lots of maths students don’t need IB for example. If she’s very good at everything it keeps lots of options open snd universities are happy with it. I think MFL students are better off doing 2 x MFL A levels so it’s really looking at whether the IB is best prep or not. Also would she get the highest grades at IB? Suits some DC but not others. All u is consider both but sometimes A levels are better prep.