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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

International Bacalauriate - has anybody's dc's done it in the UK?

28 replies

overthemill · 08/10/2008 10:20

my dsd is interested in this course - she's good at languages and not sure yet what to specialise in ) - any body any experience of it? She'd have to go to a state sixth form college to do it

what i want to know is:
is it as good as it sounds

is it academically challenging

what's it like for university entry

do they regret doing it/pleased with it?
etc
thanks!

OP posts:
Anna8888 · 08/10/2008 10:25

It is a fabulous exam.

If you do very well, it makes university entrance much easier than A levels.

But, like all exams, it needs to be well taught.

Look at the site of Sevenoaks School to get an idea of what a top IB school achieves. And then compare it with the school(s) you are looking at for your DSD.

Anna8888 · 08/10/2008 10:29

And yes - it is much more academically challenging than A levels (if it weren't, no-one would do it in the UK).

witchandchips · 08/10/2008 10:32

One of the grammer schools near us switched from A levels to IB. All reports are that it is great although quite a bit harder than A levels. Univesities (particularly at the top end) like it because the top grade (42 + 3 bonsu points) is much much harder to get than 3 As. An A grade at A level correpsonds to a 6 out of 7 at IB level

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 08/10/2008 10:35

The daughter of a friend is doing it at the moment. She is really happy with it as she wasn't keen to specialise and loves the breadth of the course and finds it academically challenging.
However, she did say to me that if she had wanted to do medicine, for instance, she would have been at a disadvantage, because the medical schools have set the bar quite high for IB applicants and that, in general, some universities understand the IB better than others so requirements can be inconsistent. So that side of things is worth checking out.

Anna8888 · 08/10/2008 10:37

Yes - some universities are much more open to, and understanding of, examinations other than A-levels.

Bristol University has very good understanding of alternatives to A-levels.

Anna8888 · 08/10/2008 10:39

It's probably generally true that standards in science at A-level are high compared to school leaving examinations internationally.

So if you are after a UK science/engineering/medicine/vet degree, A-levels are probably the best route.

Social sciences/Arts/Law are probably better prepared for with a broader background than A-levels.

FrogPrincess · 08/10/2008 10:40

dd's school is introducing it (dd only in year 5 though) but from what I gather it is good if you don't want to specialise yet, although as previously mentioned, A levels might be best if you want to do something like medicine.

I might go to the school meeting on this and find out more.....

Anna8888 · 08/10/2008 10:42

IB very good preparation for history / politics / international relations.

Original poster
overthemill · 08/10/2008 11:25

thanks! I think this sounds like it would be ideal for her (which is why we have introduced it to her). She won't do medicine although got an A* this year (i year early) for science gcse she is definitely leaning towards arts/humanities and she is 'gifted & talented' for languages (so did French 2 years early). She's talked baout doing languages at Uni maybe combined with something else. She recently talked about being an interpreter for UN or similar - she has big interest in Human Rights, international development though she wouldn't call it that!!

She loves Art and dislikes History (badly taught imo) and doesn't quite get the point of Eng Lit (sad as I did this at Uni). Is predicted A* for all subjects so I thought this broad based qual would be good for her and like the fact that you have to do so much inc community based option. We have a friend living in Switzerland whose dd did it as she had not much choice so she could come back here to UNi and ditto a friend in USA. But wanted experiences from Uk too.

OP posts:
Anna8888 · 08/10/2008 11:26

It sounds as if she is ambitious and open-minded and as if the IB would be ideal. Hope you can find a great school/college for her

Original poster
overthemill · 08/10/2008 11:28

oh yes and the state school she goes to now is ok, not fantastic academically but she has made strong friendships. unlikely any of her friends will do IB with her

if she goes and it is a good experience i think we would consider it for other 2dcs but the ds is planning to be an architect so may need to think about this

OP posts:
Anna8888 · 08/10/2008 11:30

My cousin's daughter did IB last year, in Australia - it also involved not being with her friends as only a small group of girls in her school did IB. She found it hard going academically and socially and needed lots of tlc at home but ended up with 43/45 which is a fantastic grade.

Original poster
overthemill · 08/10/2008 11:31

thanks Anna - i am very proud of her and hope she gets the very best out of what ever she chooses! I will look at sevenoaks and compare

OP posts:
Anna8888 · 08/10/2008 11:31

Architects need physics, maths and art, right? Probably a better combination at A-level.

muddleduck · 08/10/2008 11:32

I have worked in uni admissions and we love the IB. The marking system allows the really excellent students to stand out and gives all students a much broader education. I would def encourage my dc to to IB. Unis always get lots of internation applications with IBs so have a good understanding of what is involved. There is some controversy of how to equate IBs and A-levels but most unis will give clear guidance on what they require from IB students.

Anna8888 · 08/10/2008 11:33

You can also look at the IBO website, find all the schools in the UK that do IB and then look at their sites and compare results (where published). Hard work, but useful. And you can take a look at university websites and see what grades at IB they are after.

I also have to resort to these DIY comparisons of schools as am in French-bilingual system (with only a handful of schools doing the French OIB - British section I am after).

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 08/10/2008 11:42

Architects don't necessarily need physics Anna. My friend's daughter was offered places at several good universities with English, Psychology, Maths and Art. Geography would be good too.

Original poster
overthemill · 08/10/2008 14:11

anybody else have any experience of this??

OP posts:
Original poster
overthemill · 09/10/2008 16:52

we've got the course brochure and been invited to an open evening next month. the course looks great and my dsd is enthused at the idea of learning another language from scratch!

all sides of the family are excited about the opportunity and she is pleased to think she'll get high quality course/qual and get to go to college 2 years before she thought she would!

just hope they get the numbers they need to run all the classes which comprise the course!

OP posts:
bloss · 09/10/2008 17:07

Message withdrawn

Original poster
overthemill · 09/10/2008 17:10

i think she is a talented generalist so this iwl suit her i reckon, very excited for her if this is what she wants to do

OP posts:
LIZS · 10/10/2008 19:44

I think it has hte potential to be really good but you need to look at hwo the shcool implements it . The true IB is not a 2 year, alternatvie to A level, course it is an ethos and builds on foundations established from aged 13 beyond the GCSE curriculum. Several schools seem to try to get around it by, for example, focussing on a minimal number of languages and relying on students having English as a second language. Also for potential scientists/medics it may not be in depth enough. It is increasingly recognised for university entry so few problems there I think.

Anna8888 · 10/10/2008 19:48

Actually, the IB has three stages - primary, middle (secondary) and the final two year IB examination programme. There are schools that are IB schools right through - my sister's three children go to one in Amsterdam and were previously at one in Madrid.

However, the final two year IB programme is totally stand-alone. A child is at no disadvantage entering the IB programme if he/she has not done the programme right the way through. What matters is a good standard of education previously.

LIZS · 10/10/2008 20:19

Anna, that may well be true in an overseas context but the basic GCSE syllabus in UK simply isn't enough preparation on its own. Good teaching offers opportunities and knowledge beyond the syllabus, which do develop the skills required for IB, but unfortunately that isn't always the case. Many independent IB schools now offer IGCSEs (which despite the name are not the Middle Years IB curriculum), as they take the children beyond learning purely to pass GCSEs.

Anna8888 · 10/10/2008 20:26

The basic GCSE syllabus isn't even good preparation for A-level in many subjects, either - think modern languages.

But if a child has been in a good school (ie one that teaches beyond the basics of GCSE) and has had plenty of interesting life experiences, there is no reason why he/she cannot do the IB in the UK and get a good grade. The IB stretches the brightest students more than A-levels - a child who sails through GCSEs and has a broad range of interests can enter an IB programme and expect to do well.

I know people who have done the IB (and done well) all over the world, in lots of different types of school, both recently and in the past, and the one thing they all have in common is that they are well-travelled.