Report claiming the IB is scuppering entry to top UK universities is unfounded
I was disappointed to see the negative slant you put on your story about ESF students' university entry prospects ('IB 'scuppering' entry to top UK universities', Education Post, February 28). Your use of a word like 'scuppering' in the headline is indicative of the irresponsible tone of the whole piece.
On the basis of comments from two parents, one of whom chose not to be named, you gave the impression that students' chances of a university place had been diminished by the introduction of the IB diploma. The opposite is true.
Three grade As at GCE A-level have never been a guarantee of a place at a good British university. Under the sadly discredited English A-level system, so many students have scored A-grades that universities struggle to discriminate among them. Consequently the application procedure has become something of a lottery. A-grade students have found that they are denied an offer because of a dropped grade in a single subject taken two years earlier at GCSE, because their personal statement did not find favour or on the basis of a nervous performance at interview.
A new A* grade will be introduced next year whose impact on university admissions cannot yet be predicted.
The IB diploma is designed to stretch able students, and their results will inevitably be more widely spread across a scale that has 22 'pass' steps (24-45) as opposed to the five steps of the traditional A-level (A to E).