International Baccalaureate: A higher grade?

Christopher Middleton wonders if the International Baccalaureate is better than A-levels

Portability is something we used only to expect from briefcases. Now, with growing globalisation, it seems more and more of us require it from education as well.

	Highly qualified: pupils at King's College School have been taking the IB for five years

The ultimate take-anywhere qualification is the International Baccalaureate (IB), the increasingly popular alternative to traditional A-levels. Over the past seven years, the number of schools offering it in the UK has grown from 34 to 104 and that figure looks set to rise further, following the Government's announcement that it wants one IB school in every local authority in the country.

But what exactly does the IB consist of? And why are some schools so keen on it, while others won't give it house room?

Its stated philosophy is to "encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can be right". It sounds a bit woolly and well-meaning, but it turns out to be more nit and grit than froth.

"There is no doubt in my mind that the IB is harder work than A-levels," says head teacher Tony Evans who introduced the IB into King's College School, Wimbledon (private sector, 760 boys) five years ago. "Take the theory of knowledge section, for example. It takes pupils across the boundaries of different subjects and disciplines, getting them to think outside the box."

This part of the IB course is one of three central, compulsory elements. The other two are the extended essay (4,000 words on a self-researched subject) and CAS (creativity, action, service), which requires pupils to put a total of 150 hours (over 18 months) into art, sport and community work.

And that's just the start. Between them, those three subjects count for only three out of a possible maximum, 45-point IB score. The other 42 points are awarded for performance in six academic subjects. These are English, mathematics, a foreign language, a science, an "individuals-and-society" subject (economics, history, psychology) and a sixth subject that can be aesthetically orientated (music, theatre, painting) or chosen from one of the other subject groups (not English or maths). You take your three strongest subjects at Higher Level, your three weaker ones at Standard Level.

It's this sheer breadth of syllabus to which IB's opponents object, questioning the value of forcing pupils to carry on past GCSE with subjects they don't like. At Winchester College, for example, the school governors have debated and rejected the introduction of the IB on five different occasions.

"We do not think a boy who has little aptitude for mathematics, for example, should be compelled to study it for five years, while the same boy, as a gifted linguist, is confined to the study of only one foreign language in depth," wrote head teacher Dr Ralph Townsend, in a newsletter to parents.

Meanwhile, some schools are hedging their bets. When the Perse School for Girls, in Cambridge, opens its new co-ed wing next September, it intends to offer IB alongside A-levels. "What ticks the box for us is the international nature of the IB," says head teacher Tricia Kelleher. "We have to offer a qualification that is recognised in other countries."

It is recognised in 125 countries, to be exact, and taught as far afield as Angola and Ukraine. On a more parochial note, though, what many parents want to know is whether or not IB improves a child's chances of getting into university.

"There's no doubt that university admissions officers now regard IB as a preferred option," says Malcolm Kay, superintendent of ACS International School, which has been following the IB curriculum for the past 27 years. His claim is based on surveys carried out by ACS, interviewing 56 higher education admissions officers.

"I think it's now widely acknowledged that a maximum seven points at IB is superior to an A at A-level," adds Tony Evans. "Boys with IB scores of 32 are getting into places such as Durham for English and Warwick for law.

"In addition to this, the IB has helped to break down the divisions that used to exist between science and arts subjects. It's given our school not just greater cohesion, but a real sense of fizz."

Family Detective returns next week

THE IB LEAGUE

The first IB diploma programme was launched in 1968 at the International School of Geneva.

There are now 572,000 IB students at 2,100 schools in 125 countries.

It takes two years to become a certificated IB school.

Half the 104 IB schools in the UK are private.

Most IB schools in this country do the IB Diploma (ages 16-19). There is also a primary years programme (three-12) and a middle years programme (11-16).

Schools that teach the IB include North London Collegiate and Sevenoaks. Harrow and Winchester don't.