Standard of the Baccalaureate may turn out to be fool's gold
Your article claiming the International Baccalaureate (Education Post, March 12) to be the British gold standard is nonsense.
The jingoistic assertions of the article have about as much credibility as the claim that 'hamburgers are good for you'. With the surge of IB marketing in Asia, it is perhaps pertinent to remind people that A-levels are the UK gold standard and the reasons why.
A-levels offer 70 subjects including ICT, physical education, textiles, statistics, mechanics and religious studies - subjects not available with the IB curriculum. In addition, students may study as many A-levels as they want.
Talented students in English Schools Foundation schools are achieving five A-levels and multiple A2s that demonstrate capabilities not measured by the highest mark attainable with the IB. At the other end of the ability spectrum, students are able to specialise in areas that, for reasons of ability or interest, they favour. Many vocational subjects are also available. The IBO is a small, private organisation whose diploma is offered in only 65 institutions in the UK. Not all these currently have candidates and the majority offer IB as a choice alongside the favoured A-levels. Take up for IB is greatest in US and Canada because they do not have A-levels. Interestingly, Yale University will accept A-levels in lieu of SAT II subjects, but not IB diplomas.
In Hong Kong 98 per cent of ESF students have gained entry to universities of choice with A-levels. It is disappointing therefore, after a vote against the IB by the overwhelming majority of teachers and 25 per cent of the parents at KGV, that the ESF has proceeded to abandon A-levels.
