IB or A Levels?

Hi everyone,

So basically I'm in Y12 at the moment and I've started studying A Levels. I'm continuing at the same school, which overall is higher on the league tables than the IB school (which is also very good). I got 12 A* grades at GCSE. I know that I want to study French & Spanish at university.

Recently I started having doubts about whether I should do the IB because it's internationally recognised and in some cases, is more respected. It also has the ToK and EE elements. I'm not really bothered about CAS because I do a lot of extra-curricular anyway.

For IB I would take:
HL: English Literature, French, Spanish
SL: Maths, Chemistry, Philosophy

For A Levels I'm taking:
English Literature
French
Spanish
Maths
Economics
(+Critical Thinking elective - exam is optional)

I'm worried that doing 5 AS subjects might be too much. I have to study Spanish outside of school by going to course in London once a week since my school cut the subject. I'm aiming for Oxbridge.

What do you think would be best for me, IB or A Levels?

Reply 1

BCMFM16

Original post by jeevanr21

I never really considered taking the IB but my sister did. I heard its good if you like the humanities as you have to do lots of essays and its also coursework based. Its also a diploma which is higher than an A level ( slightly below a degree).
However, A levels are more mainstream therefore meaning that help with A levels will be easier to find than IB. Also with A levels you don't have to put in as much work as you do with IB, still a lot obviously. I quote that from friends who are actually doing the IB.
But at the end of the day its your choice and you should do what best suits you.