11 Plus Exams Forum

Went to the KES open day today, very sceptical about IB but have to confess, totally won over now. If DS gets in with bursary and/or scholarship, then that is a very tempting choice. IB more well rounded education and in 7 years time more take up in UK. What do others think about IB?

Interesting KEHS has taken almost a complete opposite view on IB to the boys school.

We conducted a wide review and consultation exercise on alternatives to A level e.g. IB, pre-U. What that showed was that all examinations have their advantages and disadvantages.

The specialisation concern is of course two edged. The breadth that something like IB offers is at the expense of depth.

KEHS connect Nov 2010

That's strange, as I heard from a parent at kehs that they were definitely swapping over from A levels to the IB over the next couple of years as it was viewed more rigourous.Also ,kenr as you pointed out the head at Five Way made a very strong case for it , although they are attempting to run it alongside A levels.

Either way no ball, I think the IB has it in terms of a quality exam these days,so long as the child is above average and has good literacy skills.

And being international will be able to uni's in Europe and USA

KenR wrote:Interesting KEHS has taken almost a complete opposite view on IB to the boys school.

this wouldn't surprise anyone who has DCs at both schools! Think 6th form uniform, house system, discipline, I could go on forever .......

When I went to the open evening a couple of years ago, the headmaster was very convincing when giving his talk about the IB to the parents in the 'latin' room, and not many of them had questions. I regularly raised my hand with concerns to which most parents didn't seem at all bothered.
My main concern was the fact that the majority of universities expect their medical school applicants to have all three sciences whereas with the IB you cannot do all three.

I appreciate that the IB allows you to apply to universities abroad, but really how many students want or can afford to do that? Is it enough to change to the IB for?
And has it stopped students in the past with A-levels studying abroad. Also, if you look at the top 100 universities in the world, the Uk features amongst those a great deal.

The headmasters argument was centred around the fact that it will produce more 'well rounded' students who are creative and scientific. Surely that is what we have GCSES for?

That's strange, as I heard from a parent at kehs that they were definitely swapping over from A levels to the IB over the next couple of years as it was viewed more rigourous.

That's definitely incorrect, KEHS are sticking with A levels

Elizabeth wrote: My main concern was the fact that the majority of universities expect their medical school applicants to have all three sciences whereas with the IB you cannot do all three.

I don't think you need to be too concerned about that. It is a long time since the medical schools expected students to have Physics, Chemistry and Biology A levels, and they are unlikely to go back to that as there are so few specialist Physics teachers around. The majority of applicants these days are girls and very few of them have done Physics even at AS level, they usually do Biology and Chemistry and one or two non-scientific subjects, which seems fine for getting in.

I agree, a levels are not what they used to be. IB could be the way forward especially in eight years time

Elizabeth wrote:When I went to the open evening a couple of years ago, the headmaster was very convincing when giving his talk about the IB to the parents in the 'latin' room, and not many of them had questions. I regularly raised my hand with concerns to which most parents didn't seem at all bothered.
My main concern was the fact that the majority of universities expect their medical school applicants to have all three sciences whereas with the IB you cannot do all three.

The headmasters argument was centred around the fact that it will produce more 'well rounded' students who are creative and scientific. Surely that is what we have GCSES for?

Gcses producing creative and scientific individuals? If only! Fortunately, kes has also replaced the core subjects with the igcse. GCSE's really have had their day in my opinion, and we are the laughing stock of the world for maintaining this type of exam as a tool of learning and assessment for brighter pupils.
The problem with A levels are that they fail to distinguish between the bright and average as it is so easy to 'drill' reasonably motivated pupils with the required subject knowledge. Many parents probably see this as an advantage, but then you have the problem of too many pupils reaching the coveted three A's, to the detriment of the truly able pupils.There is also the argument that the educational value of such an exam is very limited - yes subject knowledge can be drilled into them, but the skills pupils acquire along the way are flimsy and do not prepare them properly for university or the world beyond.I think some people are obsessed with outcomes and think too little of processes, when actually a good school can give your child both.