My son told me he does not want to stay on at Bexley Grammar for the sixth form as he does not want to do six subjects for the tough IB and would rather do three A Levels. It seems a pity as he likes his school but is adamant that six subjects is too many. I respect his decision although I agree with his head that the IB is better suited to pupils who are not very good at organising their time as it keeps them busy. He now faces having to apply to new schools and in the case of our closest, Chis and Sid, taking a maths entrance exam. I think it is a pity his school cannot allow some pupils to carry on doing A Levels and has gone down the all or nothing route but I guess it would be impossible to teach both. The head told me that six pupils quit BGS at the start of sixth form and switched to another grammar as they did not like the IB and found is much harder. The IB is highly regarded by universities, more so than A Levels, the head teacher told me.

No, it's not impossible to teach both - many schools do it.

Personally I don't think the IB suits everyone and the 'compulsory' volunteering seems a strange idea to me. Many students volunteer anyway but being made to do it for your exam seems bizarre.

In my view, the IB is less suited to students wanting to do Science or similar degrees.

I would respect your son's decision and apply to other grammars. The maths test at Chis and Sid is for those that wish to take maths at a levels. Most boys who are A/A* for GCSEs do pass the test so do not worry. I have a ds at Chis and Sid and to date I have not had any reason to fault the school. Pastoral care is great. External students join from Colfes, St Thomas Moore and other local grammars at sixth form and get on well. I would also not worry too heavily for universities, again most if not all, accept A'levels. Do have a look at entry requirements but for now, if he wants to study A'levels, I would respect his decision.

Sorry, I've just read that bit - what utter tosh! The Head is clearly scaring students to stay on. Look at the grade requirements for IB - if what he said was true then the IB offer would be lower - it isn't - in fact it is higher.

I can assure you that all UK universities accept A levels (why on earth wouldn't they?). The IB requirements will be listed with qualifications from most if not all other countries in the world.

Changing schools for sixth form, in itself, really isn't a big deal. In some areas, students get little choice in the matter, as the Secondary schools are mainly 11-16 only.

_________________
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx

Have to agree with TM and Guest - all universities accept A levels and, some actively discourage IB (in the sense that the offers made are very high as they do not believe they give the depth needed - particularly for sciences). Whilst there is nothing wrong with the IB and they may well be good for a student who doesn't really have a career idea or a particular strength in one area or the other, for the next step after GCSEs but they are a long way off being more highly regarded than A levels - this is just marketing codswallop by the head teacher, I'm afraid.

Parents should not just listen to head teachers who may have a vested interest in IB, they should research the IB and A levels. We decided on A levels, especially as an earlier post suggests, we were looking at science degrees.

Agreed, if you son would prefer A levels then that's the route he should take. Lots of pupils move schools ahead of Y12.

Good luck!