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IB For My Daughter-will it be OK?
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AnonymousPenguin
Obviously a child at 16 can decide on schools quite independently, however, at 11 you just don't have the same kind of perspective. If you got a bad school at 11 your choice later in life may be more limited.
Ofcourse, but a huge factor of going to a good school- is a school where the child is happy too. I'm not saying don't pick a good school- but don't make the main joint of the decision based on post-16 education, but on the education they can offer in the 5 years left, not necessarily academic either, but secondary school is a huge growing time, teenage years- and an excellent pastoral community is just as important
Go for it, I think the broader the better.
I'm doing the Irish Leaving Cert which is 7 subjects, I think it is a little harder to get into university but you'll do much better when you're there. Even in a degree course there'll be aspects you don't enjoy as much and being able to just suck it up and get it done is such a skill. . same for the working world really.
Certainly if you're travelling again I would feel at a disadvantage with A-levels. I know that getting into college in England is harder with IB or whatever, but in other countries it's harder with a=A-levels I think.
I'm doing the Irish Leaving Cert which is 7 subjects, I think it is a little harder to get into university but you'll do much better when you're there. Even in a degree course there'll be aspects you don't enjoy as much and being able to just suck it up and get it done is such a skill. . same for the working world really.
Certainly if you're travelling again I would feel at a disadvantage with A-levels. I know that getting into college in England is harder with IB or whatever, but in other countries it's harder with a=A-levels I think.
Subcutaneous
Ofcourse, but a huge factor of going to a good school- is a school where the child is happy too. I'm not saying don't pick a good school- but don't make the main joint of the decision based on post-16 education, but on the education they can offer in the 5 years left, not necessarily academic either, but secondary school is a huge growing time, teenage years- and an excellent pastoral community is just as important
At 11 I had just as much of an idea of where I'd have fun as anyone else. I'd probably pick something with the longest vacations. Academics seem like a much more objective and valid reason. In retrospect I wish I'd have gone to a more academically intensive school back then.
Also schools with good academic results and good pastoral support usually overlap. When they charge 18k for day pupils I'm sure they do a great job at pastoral support
.AnonymousPenguin
At 11 I had just as much of an idea of where I'd have fun as anyone else. I'd probably pick something with the longest vacations. Academics seem like a much more objective and valid reason. In retrospect I wish I'd have gone to a more academically intensive school back then.
Also schools with good academic results and good pastoral support usually overlap. When they charge 18k for day pupils I'm sure they do a great job at pastoral support .
Also schools with good academic results and good pastoral support usually overlap. When they charge 18k for day pupils I'm sure they do a great job at pastoral support
.As someone who also went to a private school- i disagree, private school does NOT necessarily mean the better education, i went state for 4 years (2 years yr 7 and 8 and yrs 12 and 13) and I had what i consider to the best education there- life education, learnt a lot about myself, different cultural groups, friendships, relationships..and people, THAT is the greatest education, much higher valued in me, than my a-levels
Futurdoc
I do the IB Dipolma and in my 2nd year (exams in May).
I regret doing it... there is no significant advantage.. with hindsight I should have studied the conventional A levels.
You study considerably harder.. you have to study at 100% for 2 years.
A Levels modules make A levels easier to pass.. a levels are like gcse's.. all exams at the end.. one bad exam day.. one bad grade.
Do A levels.. get your A's/A*s and get into a good uni
I want study medicine.. how does french or english help me?
It doesn't.. but my offer at uni depends on d grade i get....
I regret doing it... there is no significant advantage.. with hindsight I should have studied the conventional A levels.
You study considerably harder.. you have to study at 100% for 2 years.
A Levels modules make A levels easier to pass.. a levels are like gcse's.. all exams at the end.. one bad exam day.. one bad grade.
Do A levels.. get your A's/A*s and get into a good uni
I want study medicine.. how does french or english help me?
It doesn't.. but my offer at uni depends on d grade i get....
english would help you not to spell "the" as "d" and hence make your application for medicine stronger.
ps stop whining, if you cant do IB how the **** could you do medicine? there are very few people who say uni is harder than IB (from my school) and all those saying uni is harder are doing medicine (with a few exceptions of ppl that do techincal courses like maths/physics). lazy git.
at OP: yes true, most likely A-levels are being given preferential treatment by unis. but as long as one works hard enough then one can quite easily get >36 and thus get into a good uni. plus what if everyone has AAA or A*AA, nothing to set them apart but >40 is still impressive.
also, the amount of work is vastly overstated. people expect it to be a joke like GCSEs and then are surprised. yes its more than A levels but I found plenty of time to do other things. only from after Christmas in final year should you start to work work work - thats 5 months of your life id say a worthwile investment (plus i only started maths revision then, the others much later). Only thing - dont choose too many modules where the coursework is a major component (e.g. drama is).
bemusedcapybara
btw-- the IB diploma is your daughter's last two years of schooling.
from here until that point, just make sure she gets a bright education that will allow her to expand her horizons and broaden her mind and all that jizzlejazzle.
come back to this forum in about 4 years and THEN you'll get information that's useful for you.
from here until that point, just make sure she gets a bright education that will allow her to expand her horizons and broaden her mind and all that jizzlejazzle.
come back to this forum in about 4 years and THEN you'll get information that's useful for you.
^ A pretty valid point...there's a lot of good responses on here, but I'll add my two cents in anyways.
I'm in my second year of the IB (DPII), sitting my exams in May, and though I whine and moan about it all-the-freaking-time, it's not actually as bad as I make it out to be. The main issue is balancing work with having a relatively well-balanced life - doing some exercise, seeing friends, enjoying the growing-up-adolescent years while still doing well in school.
The joke goes that "in IB, you choose two of the following: enough sleep, good grades or a social life". Yes, I really don't sleep enough, but that's 'cause I'm an epic procrastinator and also take more HL subjects than I need to, do extra work and do quite a bit of reading around the subject. I have pretty decent grades, except in the classes (*coughcough* Chemistry HL *coughcough* ) that I find more difficult, but this is a matter of work as well - my predicted score is 42 including core points, but I'm aiming for a 43 if I can. As for a social life, I do have one, and spend time with my friends, going out, having dinner, watching films etc.
I think one of the main things I've found is that since I had quite a strong background for a few of the subjects I take, I've been able to really work to improve the bits I don't get so as to do well - I used to go to school in Quebec, Canada, where I took Advanced Biology, Maths 436 (the equivalent of an advanced maths course, I think?) and generally did quite well in English and French.
One thing that is REALLY important to remember though is that the maths that your daughter is doing at age 11 is still quite concrete - I found that it's when it gets to the point where there are more letters than numbers, or you need to see things in a completely different light, that people start to lose their liking for maths. Her interests may change - she may take an art class and fall in love with sculpting, who knows?
For now, I'd suggest putting her in a school where she will do well and be interested, as that's the best way of figuring out what the best choice is for her final/senior education. Do come back in four years, as bemusedcapybara said, and see what advice people can give then...universities may have developped very different opinions of the IB by then, and it may have become more popular, who knows?
Best of luck.
AL.
(Feel free to PM me if you have more questions!)
I think if she wants to do something like Economics or Maths where the level of maths is way way way stronger than you could ever get in IB - she should do A levels - Its basically a choice between having a broader education or specialising earlier - for me GCSE's took great care of my broad education and then I wanted to study the subjects which I liked.
A levels give fantastic flexibility which you do not get with IB.
If you're thinking about American Uni's they like IB, but you still have to do SATs (I think - not sure).
I'm really unconvinced about the broadness of education with IB - I think GCSE's do a fine job.
I think its best to give her all the information that you can and then let her make the final decision. Do not force her into anything.
A levels give fantastic flexibility which you do not get with IB.
If you're thinking about American Uni's they like IB, but you still have to do SATs (I think - not sure).
I'm really unconvinced about the broadness of education with IB - I think GCSE's do a fine job.
I think its best to give her all the information that you can and then let her make the final decision. Do not force her into anything.
Don't forget as well OP, that your daughter won't even be considering UCAS for at least 6 years and a lot can change in that time!
Srije
I think if she wants to do something like Economics or Maths where the level of maths is way way way stronger than you could ever get in IB - she should do A levels -
HL Maths is usually accepted as harder then A-level maths. Especially so when you consider the distribution of results - something like 40% of As at A-level, compared to 12% or so of 7s at IB. Further maths is available as part of the IB as well.
Srije
I think if she wants to do something like Economics or Maths where the level of maths is way way way stronger than you could ever get in IB - she should do A levels
What? Nothing I've seen suggests that A-level Maths is in any way (mechanics aside) more rigorous than IB HL Maths. In fact most anecdotes I've heard suggest the opposite.
Oh gosh wasnt really seeking the private vs state discussion and thats why I didnt want to name the school from the start
I would not choose what she would study at A level but this particular school is an IB school really and even the subjects you take at GCSE are geared towards taking IB at 6th form. In such a case I think it would be difficult for DD to go any other way as my understanding is most of the kids stay at this school to do 6th form which is wholly IB.
Regarding choosing a school where your child is happy, as parents we can only do the best but there is never a guarantee that your child will be happy or will stay happy.
Anyway she hasnt even got a place yet so it all hangs on how she performs on the entrance test but having done A levels myself, IB was an unknown territory so just wanted to know more about it and if this school would suit what we want.
Finally I get a feeling that IB is more like how A levels were many moons ago when we did it. Getting a B was like halleluya, an A was really gold dust and was for the VERY clever ones. Back then there werent much of the useful research stuff you get these day and talk of the internet. I wish all those taking the exams in May best of luck. I am sure you have worked damn hard to get were you are and are almost there. It seems most here are very clever looking at your predicted grades and universities you are going to. I thought average IB grade was 29 or something. Its clearly not for the faint hearted.
I would not choose what she would study at A level but this particular school is an IB school really and even the subjects you take at GCSE are geared towards taking IB at 6th form. In such a case I think it would be difficult for DD to go any other way as my understanding is most of the kids stay at this school to do 6th form which is wholly IB.
Regarding choosing a school where your child is happy, as parents we can only do the best but there is never a guarantee that your child will be happy or will stay happy.
Anyway she hasnt even got a place yet so it all hangs on how she performs on the entrance test but having done A levels myself, IB was an unknown territory so just wanted to know more about it and if this school would suit what we want.
Finally I get a feeling that IB is more like how A levels were many moons ago when we did it. Getting a B was like halleluya, an A was really gold dust and was for the VERY clever ones. Back then there werent much of the useful research stuff you get these day and talk of the internet. I wish all those taking the exams in May best of luck. I am sure you have worked damn hard to get were you are and are almost there. It seems most here are very clever looking at your predicted grades and universities you are going to. I thought average IB grade was 29 or something. Its clearly not for the faint hearted.
opaltiger
What? Nothing I've seen suggests that A-level Maths is in any way (mechanics aside) more rigorous than IB HL Maths. In fact most anecdotes I've heard suggest the opposite.
you can do 3-4 A levels in maths alone with the A level system. And please look at the OCR mei syllabus which blows IB out of the water.
sherry_d
Oh gosh wasnt really seeking the private vs state discussion and thats why I didnt want to name the school from the start
I would not choose what she would study at A level but this particular school is an IB school really and even the subjects you take at GCSE are geared towards taking IB at 6th form. In such a case I think it would be difficult for DD to go any other way as my understanding is most of the kids stay at this school to do 6th form which is wholly IB.
Regarding choosing a school where your child is happy, as parents we can only do the best but there is never a guarantee that your child will be happy or will stay happy.
Anyway she hasnt even got a place yet so it all hangs on how she performs on the entrance test but having done A levels myself, IB was an unknown territory so just wanted to know more about it and if this school would suit what we want
I would not choose what she would study at A level but this particular school is an IB school really and even the subjects you take at GCSE are geared towards taking IB at 6th form. In such a case I think it would be difficult for DD to go any other way as my understanding is most of the kids stay at this school to do 6th form which is wholly IB.
Regarding choosing a school where your child is happy, as parents we can only do the best but there is never a guarantee that your child will be happy or will stay happy.
Anyway she hasnt even got a place yet so it all hangs on how she performs on the entrance test but having done A levels myself, IB was an unknown territory so just wanted to know more about it and if this school would suit what we want
have you asked her if she wants to go there? where are her friends going?
sherry_d
Firstly I have a daughter in primary and we are applying for a secondary school place. The school we really have on our hearts is an IB school and they exclusively do IB at A level and get top results.
I do have worries about IB, first I have heard its extremely hard and she needs to works her socks off. My question is will it not put her in a disadvantage later is life if she gets OKish grades when applying to unis whereas with A levels she might have got better grades
I know some of my worries are a bit far fetched, at the moment we dont know what she will do it could be arts or sciences. All I can say now is she loves maths. My concern is that if she decides to persue sciences like medicine and engineering, will IB not out her in disadvantage than counterparts doing Maths, Physics and Chemistry which seem to go a bit deeper to my little undertanding.
The reason I a really keen on IB is that it is very diverse and its very portable. We are an expat family here and have lived her for 10years and so far there are no plans of moving in the forseable future but the tingling feeling is it could happen one day. But to be honest I really dont want to base my opinion on this alone but on the whole of IB as an alternative to A level...Also the most schools that do IB seem a bit more diverse in their intake of student but then again it could just be wrong. Diversity would really be an added bonus for us.
I would really appreciate any feedback and any issues I need to be aware of regarding IB
I do have worries about IB, first I have heard its extremely hard and she needs to works her socks off. My question is will it not put her in a disadvantage later is life if she gets OKish grades when applying to unis whereas with A levels she might have got better grades
I know some of my worries are a bit far fetched, at the moment we dont know what she will do it could be arts or sciences. All I can say now is she loves maths. My concern is that if she decides to persue sciences like medicine and engineering, will IB not out her in disadvantage than counterparts doing Maths, Physics and Chemistry which seem to go a bit deeper to my little undertanding.
The reason I a really keen on IB is that it is very diverse and its very portable. We are an expat family here and have lived her for 10years and so far there are no plans of moving in the forseable future but the tingling feeling is it could happen one day. But to be honest I really dont want to base my opinion on this alone but on the whole of IB as an alternative to A level...Also the most schools that do IB seem a bit more diverse in their intake of student but then again it could just be wrong. Diversity would really be an added bonus for us.
I would really appreciate any feedback and any issues I need to be aware of regarding IB
Could always allow her to decide at 16? Aka, move to a 6th form college or something if she prefers to do A levels?
I know your daughters only 11 but i think she's capable of putting an opinion forward...like where SHE would like to study. Explain to her that this secondary school does IB which is much harder...then ask if she'd be willing for the extra effort...a good few years hindsight to the added work load might prepare her more anyway...does she like the school enough to take on the extra work? Does she have any other preferences?
After-all, it she who has to go there
There seems to be some anecdotal evidence that some universities find matching IB grade requirements and A level grade requirements rather irksome and ask for more from IB students.
Subcutaneous
have you asked her if she wants to go there? where are her friends going?
No way I would give her that choice.
I would be mad to give her that choice right now. Of course I will consider her opinion but its downright to us where she goes at 11+ She will have many opportunities to make her own decision later including her A levels. I have been around to a few schools and she has loved one school simply because of the nice girly lockers they have. I will explain why we think the school is right for her. And in all honest most of your primary friends will not be your secondary friends even if you go to the same secondary school.sherry_d
No way I would give her that choice. I would be mad to give her that choice right now. Of course I will consider her opinion but its downright to us and I will explain why we think the school is right for her. And in all honest most of your primary friends will not be your secondary friends even if you go to the same secondary school.
I would be mad to give her that choice right now. Of course I will consider her opinion but its downright to us and I will explain why we think the school is right for her. And in all honest most of your primary friends will not be your secondary friends even if you go to the same secondary school.Friends aren't everything and should not be a deciding factor for but I think you're forgetting something - She's 10, she does not care about what she's going to be studying in 2016, she cares about the now! If my parents hadn't let me have any say in my school choice (I'm sorry, but that's how it sounds - you'll let her decide based on what? Academic merit? I don't think any primary school child has the knowledge or understanding about that) I'd have been a very unhappy bunny!
Has she seen the school (as in an open day) yet? That might be a big deciding factor for her too. If she doesn't like the feel of it then she might not even want to go there
You clearly sound like a supportive parent OP, so if you keep that up she should do fine wherever she goes. My parents didn't give a crap about where I went and I did pretty well, I now go to what is apparently the top sixth form college in the country and have had all 5 offers for uni.
Besides, for an eleven year old, five years is a very long time, she really needs to go somewhere where she will be happy, and if she changes her mind to do A Levels or Btec or whatever she can always leave. And trust me when I say that years 7-9 are pretty inconsequential, all I did was go to the Lake District and make some stuff in DT tbh.
Besides, for an eleven year old, five years is a very long time, she really needs to go somewhere where she will be happy, and if she changes her mind to do A Levels or Btec or whatever she can always leave. And trust me when I say that years 7-9 are pretty inconsequential, all I did was go to the Lake District and make some stuff in DT tbh.
I kind of agree with you there. I remember looking around schools aged 10/11 and picking which ones I like based on the fact that they had a pet rabbit or that they sold doughnuts with sprinkles on in the canteen 
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