Can anyone help with IB vs Igcse?

[Bougainvilleapink]

We’re moving abroad with one dd who will start year 9 in September 26
we have a choice of two schools one does Igcse and the other the IB, I don’t know anything about the IB so if anyone can shed any light comparing the two educational systems I’d appreciate it.

dd much preferred the IB school itself but she knows she will be fine educationally continuing on the British system and is apprehensive about starting a new system.

Are you likely to return to UK system eventually? IB does not offer a qualification at 16 equivalent to gcses. If she may only return for uni it probably would not matter,

They’re different things. IGCSE is GCSE, IB is Alevel. I grew up in ME, not Dubai. If you have any specific questions happy to help

IB does offer the eqpuivalent to GCSE's.
It's called the IB MYP.

My dd did it, now doing A levels. She loved it overall. The personal project is hard work, and Maths is v tough.

It's broader, more interesting and teaches critical thinking, research skills and reflections much better than GCSEs.

The biggest downside is people generally think of the IB as only being the diploma level.

The UK university system is equipped to accept IB and make offers accordingly so don’t worry about that. So if she prefers the school I’d say go for it. I did it and two of my friends are v experienced teachers teaching it currently and it continues to be a great option. It sees you do a broader range of subjects and not have to narrow your choices as early as you do with as levels. But as a pp said, it’s an A-level/ 6th form equivalent, not a GCSE one.

DS did IB in the UK. He said that he didn't have the same depth of knowledge as A'Level candidates. Didn't stop him getting a PhD.

I did the IB abroad, and DD is doing it now in the U.K. She is enjoying it, but she is very driven and academically bright. It is a challenging programme, you have to be versatile and there is a lot of coursework. DD is an all-rounder, so is well suited for the broader range of subjects. It really depends on your child’s personality and ability, and also on the school and how they support the pupils. My experience of doing it is very different to DD’s, my school was nowhere near as good (think class sizes of 30 to 60 vs 4-8 in each subject).

Is it more difficult than Igcse? The IB school does do the MYP, so is it possible to return to the U.K. a level system if we wanted to?

If we choose the IB system can dd ‘slot’ back into an IB school in England at some point (perhaps a private school if they IB doesn’t exist in the state system?) or is too difficult due to the way it works .

I’m thinking if dd sits her Igcse at the other school abroad she can return to England easily to sit a levels. I know we will stay abroad until the end of year 11 but not sure if we would be there longer than that.

I have taught at an IB school in the uk.

The myp (middle years programme) comes in two flavours one lasts three years and then the students do GCSEs or it lasts five years and they get an myp qualification.

the IB is deliberately designed so that it is relatively easy to move between countries and as long as you go to dn IB school it will still have the same structure.

you may run into difficulties if you do the myp and don’t have GCSEs but want to go onto a levels.

I’ve taught both systems in international schools. If there is any chance of returning before the end of her education then I would encourage choosing a school with IGCSE.

So many people refer to ‘IB’ when they mean the IB Diploma Programme. Many schools do IGCSEs in KS4 ages (Grades 9-10/year 10-11) and then move to the IB DP for final 2 years.

what you are describing seems to be a traditional IB through school that offers the full programme PYP/MYP/DP.

when delivered well it’s an excellent programme but also it’s designed as a through programme building skills and there isn’t one clear curriculum with set learning objectives which is hard to get your head around when you are used to UK systems. And note I said when delivered well… it’s often delivered very poorly and with no ‘proper’ exams. I taught MYP at one school and it was a complete mess. Highly rated school - I would never have let my own kids attend for secondary. There are many arguments why not having so many exams in KS4 is a positive thing but if coming back to UK it could limit options - and means there is no fall back if A levels/IB DP doesn’t go well for any reason.

Do more research about the school itself, not just the glossy website try to seek out parents/teachers to find out the real story before deciding. You can find out a lot in local area expat mum or teacher Facebook groups.

If you are planning to return to the UK for a levels then I would go with igcse. My ds did igcse then the IB diploma overseas and when he started the IB program his chemistry knowledge was much higher than those students who had completed the MYP. In maths it was the reverse situation where HL maths was a huge jump from igcse, but IB maths courses have changed considerably since he took the IB so I don’t think that’s still an issue.
Dd was doing the MYP when we relocated back to the uk and started the GCSE program. She was behind in science, but UK school helped her to catch up.

I also agree with @exexpatteacher - research beyond the glossy brochure. We lived overseas for 25 years and I lost count of the number of times I was told my children were being taught by the world’s best teachers- so much marketing bullshit.

@ShanghaiDiva @exexpatteacher ha yes I understand this, had the same thing when choosing a uk private school with all their fancy brochures and shiny facilities .

We have all visited both schools. The IB school offers more in terms of extra curricular as well as the IB itself which is why dd preferred it, it has far more in terms of sporting and arts facilities but I feel that at this stage I have to put the academics first despite dd being very strong at sports.
maths and sciences are dd’s thing I feel confident she’d be fine in those subjects. But it does appear that the gcse system is easier to go back and forth between abroad and the U.K.