What is International Baccalaureate (IB)?

The International Baccalaureate Diploma was introduced in the 1960s, in response to concerns about the narrowness of A levels and the need for a qualification that met the needs of a global society. It was designed as a pre university course for highly motivated students and the qualification reflects the European tradition of post 16 students retaining a breadth of subjects to their studies.

There are 1500 schools and colleges offering the IB in over 110 countries; currently the UK and the USA are experiencing the fastest growth in the qualification.

At the centre of the IB are three core elements:

Theory of Knowledge: which explores the nature of knowledge and our ways of knowing. Students complete an essay and a presentation.
CAS: where students undertake 150 hours of Creative, Action and Service activities. The activities should both develop new skills and abilities in the students and provide benefits to the local and international community
The extended essay: where students write a 4000 word research based essay from one of their IB subjects

To achieve the full Diploma students have to pass these three core elements in addition to the following 6 subjects:
1) Home Language, this includes language and literature; 2) a second language; 3) Individuals and Society; 4) Science; 5) Maths; 6) An Arts subjects or a second subject from groups 2, 3 or 4.

Students take three of the subjects at higher level (broadly equivalent to A level) and three at standard (broadly equivalent to AS level). The course is linear with exams being taken in May of the second year.

The IB is recognised by universities in most countries of the world and in June 2006 the IB was formally included in the UCAS tariff. The minimum IB pass mark of 24 gives the equivalent UCAS points of 3.5 grade A “A” levels. The maximum IB points of 45 equates to 6.5. “A” levels at grade A.