FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can you take three sciences? Because of its emphasis upon breadth, the International Baccalaureate Diploma does not allow a student to take three sciences. UK medical schools do not require three sciences: Chemistry and one other Science( generally Biology) or Maths are standard subject requirements.
Does the IB allow you to opt for Medicine at university? Absolutely – the IB Diploma supports applications for Medicine very well, and every year we have significant number of applicants who apply successfully to top universities for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science. Today, medical schools are not only seeking academic rigour in Sciences and Maths but are increasingly looking for a mix of skillsets – both academic and personal. By continuing to study languages and humanities, the IB enables students to further develop their written and verbal communication skills, enhances their ability to critically assess information and nurtures a more multifarious view of situations, enhanced by their study of TOK. The CAS programme is simply superb in enabling students to contribute to the school and wider community whilst helping the students to reflect on their actions and impact.
Does the IB’ s breadth mean there is less depth? OFQUAL, the UK’ s school-leaving qualifications regulator, ranks individual IB subjects, their content and their assessment, as being as demanding as the supposedly more in-depth A-levels. There is a small difference in UCAS tariff points based only on the number of hours of instruction per subject.
Indeed, with the Extended Essay and the focus on independence in the IB internal assessment, students have more incentive to specialise and develop a much deeper understanding of material than a rote-learning, tick-box specification will allow. The nature of the open-ended, conceptbased IB examinations rewards those who’ ve moved deeper into the material in a way that A-levels’ focus on assessing content doesn’ t.
The IB is perceived to be harder than other qualifications. Is this true? Doing well in any qualification is difficult, and the point of good assessment is to reward the students who through talent, commitment and hard work achieve high grades. The IB is no different. There are more subjects, so in this sense it is a greater challenge.
The value of an IB Diploma, however, has been retained over the last 40 years: there has been no grade inflation, no continual tampering and subsequent reversals with assessment, and no introduction of new higher grades. When teaching 16-year-olds about life and how to be successful, are we going to tell them that avoiding difficulty, when you know the‘ easier’ route is measurably less valuable, is the right thing to do?
THE IB AT SEVENOAKS | THE SIXTH FORM 63