Does anyone have a child in an IB school?

[jabberwocky]

We are putting in an application for ds1. I really didn't know anything about this type of curriculum until very recently. would appreciate any shared experiences.

My sister has three children in an IB school - ages 9, 6, 3.

Look at the IBO website if you want lots of information.

I looked at this for DS (11) at London day school. I think that it is a very attractive proposition - to a point. I really wanted DS to do it as I think by the time my children go to university the UK ones will not be worth going to and they will be looking abroad (but that is another thread).

The problem is, as I see it, it is very good for the child that is an all rounder and excels across the curriculum. However, if you have a child who is, say, quite weak in a core area such as English, Maths or modern languages then you are in trouble potentially. If you have a child who is obviously very orientated to the humanities or sciences then the A level system is probably better for that child.

What age ? It seems different in primary stages to senior. tbh the part ds experienced(PYP) wasn't that impressive but much could depend on interpretation.

My dd is 8, at the prep of a school which offers IB and A levels. They started doing IB a couple of years ago, but most of the girls atm stick with A levels. With a very young child I'd be reluctant to commit to an IB only school as it's very hard to predict whether they'll be more allrounder than strongly oriented to a smaller group of subjects, whether arts/sciences or a blend.

I've taught in a school that does the Early Years, Middle Years, and Diploma, and also in one that does just the Diploma after GCSE.

Is there anything specific you wish to know?

Wow, thanks for all of the responses! DS1 would be entering at the kindergarten level (we're in the US) age 5. This school goes K- 12 so potentially he would get an IB diploma. We've been advised to choose his school carefully as he recently scored freakishly high on basic skills and IQ testing. I'm more than a bit overwhelmed, tbh and just trying to get a grasp on what direction we should go from this point. His scores were pretty much the same in every subject, but of course we can't know what he will prefer in later years.

I guess I should say that basically I'm wondering how happy parents have been who have made that choice and has anyone had a child who took classes in higher grades (although not skipping a whole grade, IYKWIM) and how that worked out.

jabberwocky - my sister has no choice anymore - she and her family move around the world and had to decide early on between educating their children in French or in IB schools. She chose IB. She is reasonably happy with the curriculum, the schools vary (as they do). She feels her children are not as stretched as they would be in a monolingual English environment, but maybe your IB school has fewer non-Anglophones than hers?

JW, I would say that if we still lived in the place we lived in the US, I would be tempted by the IB program.

We were in Cincinnati, and at the time there were two places that offered the IB program. Unfortunately, our school district wasn't one of them, and the next feasible wasn't as an attractive an area.

But I would have been tempted, because I think it is better than the US system. At the elementary level, I don't think there is a huge difference between the IB and the US system. The key differences happen from 9th Grade onwards. For us, had we stayed in the US, boarding school would have become a realistic option.

Anna has neatly articulated ds' experience fo IB at Primary level. He did Preschool to Grade 1 then we moved back to the UK for Year 3 and the gap was very evident. 2 years on he is still finding the basics hard.

LIZS, where were you living when he did IB?

Switzerland , so several new non English speaking chidren arriving in each year.

I did the IB myself, although a long time ago (1980). I went to an international sixth form college that did only the IB, so I have experience of it only at that level.

At that level, it gives you a good combination of breadth (six subjects, plus Theory of Knowledge) and depth (three highers and three subsidiary subjects. It is more demanding than UK A-levels and I suspect that it's not for the academically shaky. Having said that, almost everyone in my year passed the diploma. It was a very good school, however.

Another positive aspect of the IB is that the curriculum avoids the narrow focus on British history, literature etc that, at least when I was at school, characterised A-levels. In the Higher Level History course, I specialised in European History, but other students specialised in Asian or African History. Within the European History course, we also spent time looking at Wars in the C20th across the world (e.g. Vietnam) and at World Development issues. Similarly, the English as first language Higher Level syllabus included world literature in translation and we looked at Scandinavian and Indonesian authors. I found all this very refreshing after the narrowness of O Levels. Incidentally, DH teaches at Oxbridge and finds that students who have done the IB are well prepared and well rounded academically.

On the question of what happens if you are not strong in certain areas - I had little confidence in maths, but I still did reasonably well. Students can do maths at very basic, basic or advanced levels and this caters well for the spread of ability.

That is really good information to have. We are going to visit the school on Tuesday and I think if all goes well that's the one we will ultimately put him in. Both of the schools we are leaning towards will require a move and dh and I feel that the whole family will enjoy the city with the IB school much more than our other choice. So, fingers crossed at this point that things work out for the best.

I had a chat with my sister about PYP yesterday evening.

In a nutshell, she thinks her children (especially her very bright elder son) would be more stretched in a monolingual English prep school. However, she also thinks that the philosophy behind the IB curriculum is excellent, it offers lots of scope for developing individual children and she thinks that in the right hands and the right monolingual/dominant language environment it has the potential to be a truly exceptional curriculum.

I'd agree with Anna's post

Another thing - DH, who is well placed to comment, thinks that the IB has managed to avoid the grade inflation we have seen with A-levels.

I think we have to be realistic about the IB.

At a selective school, the top kids may do IB and achieve very well. At a non-selective school where everyone does the IB, it can be very different.

It is not a magic bullet.

As someone who did 6 Scottish Highers, I am not too fazed by the IB. Nowadays with AS and A2, along with Critical Thinking or RS, there is not as big a gap as is made out.

I think we may be OK with this school. It seems to meet the criteria Anna mentioned. There are only a few spots available so they are being rather selective and striving to keep standards high. The woman we spoke with said ds1 could possibly earn up to 30 college credits while getting the IB diploma. Thank you all so much for the feedback. I'll definitely keep everything in mind when we go to look around and talk again with them on Tuesday.