IB at state boarding for sixth form

[probablymaybeperhaps]

Hi

Does anyone have experience of any of the handful of UK state boarding schools offering International Baccalaureate?

Other experience of UK state boarding at sixth form would also be useful. I think we need IB unless anyone knows of a school which would allow English, French, German and maths A levels to be taken together! IB would be better though as it also allows for a humanity and a science.

I think most schools would offer those 4 as A levels to be taken together. Ours wouldbe it isn't a boarding school

*but it isn't

That’s a normal set of A levels, so lots of schools would offer those. My DC state comprehensive would. Not boarding, though.

Getting state boarding is hard unless it's for geographical reasons, specialist or military families etc. I would look into likelihood of placement rather than worrying about the subjects if it's a choice that would work for your family, plus check the copay, ours was pretty hefty - even though the education it's self was free we paid for boarding

I can recommend one that's boarding and no requirements of being a forces family.

www.hockerill.com/ Offers state boarding and IB

www.psc.ac.uk/courses/ Large state sixthform college so may have good flexibility with courses and has boarding

It's for geographical reasons, and a lot of people have told me MFL departments are shrinking/ folding and a lot of schools and consequently six forms aren't offering German at all. Even some IB courses don't allow 2 MFL even though European universities often require native language plus 2 MFL.

Yep I know that the education is free but the boarding fees vary enormously, from 18k per year to about 10k per year, or in one school 6k per year for 6th form for weekly boarding although that would entail very frequent flights or staying with extended family which isn't ideal 9ver two years.

We're not in the UK but joint citizens and DD fancies boarding in the UK for 6th form. She's an Anglophile and eager to live in Britain but it's not a must - so far she's been educated in Germany in the state system and continuing here would be no problem. It's just what she wants so worth investigating.

Mary Hockerill is one I've been in contact with, they'd meet our requirements but they seem to be incredibly expensive for boarding - I'm not sure we can justify almost 40k over two years just for boarding costs! Otherwise they seem very switched in and impressive - do you have personal experience? I haven't heard of PSC so will look.

CitadelsofScience which school could you recommend?

Op look up Burford.

www.burford.oxon.sch.uk/

I live in the same town as Hockeril and know a lot of students who have been through the school, through my volunteering as a guide leader - my kids are a long way off.

It is highly regarded and the students I know who go there are all lovely students who have all achieved really well.

@probablymaybeperhaps

Regarding Hockerill you should connect with another poster, river1 who knows the school well and would be able to advise. X

Thank you CitadelsofScience Burford looks promising if the A level combination is possible. The boarding fees are far more realistic than Hockerill and more what I was expecting, certainly worth considering despite no IB.

Just choosing a school and worrying about the subjects later doesn't work because she wouldn't be able to attend German universities without 2 MFL plus maths and whichever counts as her native language (basically she has to do English, French German and maths) which is why IB is better for her specific case as she could also do history, art and a science - subjects she prefers to maths! The IB options are very limited though.

Peter Symonds College also looks interesting!

German teenagers are self sufficient creatures used to being very independent and some of the school websites have actually made me wonder whether DD would feel rather smothered and babied! Perhaps that impression is inaccurate as the websites are certainly aimed at parents rather than pupils, so probably intended to be reassuring. The stand alone sixth form might well be better in that way though...

OVienna thank you I will. Hockerill would tick all the boxes but the boarding fees are so high! Over two years it's £14- 16,000 more than most of the others!

CitadelsofScience and stucknoue did you or your children attend state boarding schools? Can you give me any idea of pros and cons (other than the obvious child away from home) and anything we should look out for when contacting the schools or looking around?

If she is being educated in the German system until 16 it seems pretty pointless doing German A level She would be better off doing IB with both German and English as native speaker.

sendsummer as I understand it even with IB you have to pick a native language - or am I misunderstanding? Her English and German are as close to being the same standard as it's possible to be IMO so it really doesn't matter which is down as her native language except in the way that impacts other choices. I didn't think it was possible to have both as native language for IB but will investigate further.

If she did A level she'd hopefully do German as an extra without having to sit through all the lessons, but in the end she wouldn't mind as she's had to sit through English as a foreign language lessons and learn to play the niche game of trying to only use vocabulary and grammar you've actually been taught in tests, since she was 9!

www.priorylsst.co.uk/_site/data/files/lsst/83586ED5C34294E125891B05AB199188.pdf

LSST offer all those a-levels. Don't think they do IB. Great school, I think boarding is about 10k a year. Quite a few foreign students/students from abroad so they pretty much all stay in at weekends and have a good boarding house activities programme.

If her English is equivalent she should do the bilingual diploma.
It would in any case be unfair as well as pointless for her to do a language acquisition course that is for non native speakers. Certainly UK universities would n’t be impressed and might not count her German either in IB or A level.

VivaLeBeaver could also be interesting.

I've fired off more enquiry emails.

DD has looked at dress codes and now has a preference for Peter Symonds which I can understand!

sendsummer as things stand UK universities aren't really of interest, but yes it's an odd though probably fairly common dilemma. She has to have German at higher level though for German universities. She also has to have English - the German school system has never been interested in the fact she's a native English speaker, she's never been allowed to opt out of English which is compulsory (we asked if she could take Spanish instead but the answer was no, no exceptions).

I didn't know that there was a bilingual diploma before reading your posts. Hockerill have sent me a PDF about how they meet German university entrance requirements but I'm travelling atm and my internet isn't up to opening PDFs but I'll be reading it when I'm home.

A bilingual diploma obviously sounds ideal - I don't suppose you know where offers them? I'll Google too obviously!

I'm presuming independent schools are not of interest to you?

I know of one which definitely offers the bilingual diploma.

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross no they aren't, thanks.

It's not essential she does a bilingual diploma - I've only been internet searching for 15 minutes but I can't find any indication of state schools offering them at all.

Shes getting a good free education which meets her needs etc where she is so I'm tempted to say she should stay put, but understand her desire to spread her wings and study in the UK. I was similar at her age. I understand it to the tune of about 12k per year absolute maximum though She might be better off waiting, completing her education where we live and working in the UK later ... I hate to quash the idea without fully investigating though.

Hockerill offers bilingual IB, from their website a quarter got it this year.

And Dallam school.

Thanks sendsummer that's very helpful. They don't seem to have it explicitly listed as a bilingual IB.