2:40pm Tuesday 13th July 2010
By Kate Proctor
DALLAM School is cele-brating after its sixth formers received their first ever International Baccalaureate (IB) results this week.
The IB qualification, which is an alternative to A-levels, requires students to study six subjects, including maths, science and a foreign language.
Fifteen students sat the IB exams in May after head teacher Steve Holdup introduced the new qualification as an alternative option to A-levels two years ago.
Mr Holdup said the first batch of students to complete the exams had done extre-mely well, with top scoring student Adja Zupancic from Slovenia scoring 37 out of 45 — the equivalent of three A* grades at A-level. Mr Holdup said: “This is our first year and we’re very pleased that our successful results are comparable with intern-ational standards.
“It bodes very well for the future and we hope our Year 12s, who are currently in their first year of the IB programme, will build on this year’s results.”
The IB is an international qualification studied by sixth formers all over the world and Mr Holdup believes it complements Dallam School’s ethos.
“As we’re an international boarding school with students attending the school from many different countries I think the IB makes sense as it prepares students for life in an international environment.”
Over 60 of the school’s current Year 11s have opted to take the IB over A-levels next year.
Windermere St Anne’s School is the only other school in the county where sixth formers can study the IB and their 28 entrants received their results on Monday.
Top scoring girls were Jessica Heward and Natalia Szlarb, who both achieved 39 points, and top scoring boy was Alexander Mackintosh, with 36 points.
Natasha Bradley achieved the highest schore possible for the Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge modules.
Headmaster Ian Lavender said: “We are very pleased to report that in our second year of offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma at Windermere School, the average result has reached an impressive 32 points.
“This year in particular, places at university are extremely competitive and this will give the majority of our students entrance into the university of their choice.”
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