Education News - Education World News
Thursday, 29 January 2009 14:11
International Baccalaureate Diploma Course slowly gaining A-level ground in the UK
The International Baccalaureate started 40 years ago in Geneva and with it a message of broader and more self-motivated education. However, within the UK the uptake has been very slow and even today the number of schools that have adopted the IB still totals only 137 with most running in conjunction with current A-levels.
The positive sign is that this number is four times larger than it was eight years ago.
So what exactly do International Baccalaureate students get?
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Course requires sixth-form pupils to study six subjects rather than the standard three at A-level. These are mathematics, English, a foreign language, a science, an "individuals and society" subject - economics, history, psychology - and a sixth subject that can either be aesthetically orientated (music, theatre, art) or chosen from one of the other subject groups (perhaps another language).
In addition, pupils study the Theory of Knowledge, write an Extended Essay (EE) of 4,000 words on a self-researched subject and engage in a module called CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service), which requires them to put a total of 150 hours, over an 18-month period, into art, sport and community work.
Instead of grades, they are awarded points, up to a maximum of 45.
Educational Heresy
Thirty years ago this sort of philosophy was seen as educational heresy. But as the value of A grades at A-level becomes ever more closely questioned, many people are wondering whether the IB might be a more accurate yardstick of pupil achievement.
Sevenoaks School in Kent took up the IB thirty years ago, "A candidate who is predicted to get between 40 and 45 points is definitely something special," says Sevenoaks deputy head Graham Lacey. "With someone who is predicted to achieve three top grades at A-level, though, you can't be so sure. After all, 13 per cent of candidates get three As."
But that's only part of the story.
Converts to the International Baccalaureate say it serves not just as a crude tool with which to gain entrance to university, but also as a template for lifelong learning.
"Education doesn't stop when you leave school or finish university," says Simon Eliot, head of Sherborne Boys School, which has just introduced IB to its sixth form, in conjunction with Sherborne Girls School. "Throughout your working life, you need the skills of independent, creative thinking that the IB helps you acquire."
Not just the Private Sector
It's not just in the private sector, either, that IB teachings are taking root. One of the most recent establishments to adopt the baccalaureate is Dallam School, at Milnthorpe in Cumbria, a state co-ed of 1,000 pupils with a strong emphasis on languages and a small number of boarders.
"It's outrageous that children in this country (UK) are allowed to drop maths and languages as soon as they get to A-level," says head teacher Steve Holdup. "I can't think of another country in the developed world that allows that to happen."
In reply, the International Baccalaureate-faithful point to the way in which "bacc" students can hedge their bets, doing their three strongest subjects at Higher Level and their three weakest at Standard Level.
In recognition of how hard maths can be for some people, there's even a sub-Standard Level, known as Maths Studies. An additional attraction is that the final qualification is highly portable.
"We have 31 different nationalities of pupil at our school," says Mark Eagers, head of Boxhill School in Surrey, who started out teaching the IB in Singapore. "For us, it's very important to offer a qualification that's recognised internationally."
At the same time as singing the praises of the baccalaureate, though, head teachers do acknowledge that it's not for everyone. "The pupils have to be well organised, good at time management and committed to the all-round nature of the curriculum," says Simon Eliot at Sherborne. "We have about 10 per cent of our sixth form doing the IB at the moment, but I don't expect take up will ever go much above 40 per cent."
More accurate assessment
Even so, most IB schools believe that the baccalaureate system gives not only a more accurate assessment of a pupil's abilities than A-level grades, but also a better overall preparation for university life. And, according to a survey commissioned by ACS International Schools (in Cobham, Egham and Hillingdon), most university admissions tutors think the same.
"It makes us chuckle when each year government ministers come out with this line about the rise in A grades being the result of students working harder," says Graham Lacey at Sevenoaks School.
"Look at the IB scores and you'll see that they've remained pretty constant for decades. The proportion of pupils getting 45 points, for example, has remained the same for the past 20 years, at 0.3 per cent.
"Does that mean IB students aren't working harder, or could it possibly mean that A grades at A-level are getting easier to achieve? I think we all know the answer to that question."
To find an IB school, see http://www.ibo.org.
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