Industry News
International Baccalaureate "the only option"
Posted on 21st February 2008
Ken Underhill, the headteacher of Westbourne independent school in Wales, has written to the Independent saying that his new sixth form will only offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) from September this year.
"Far from being a brave move, it is the only logical option for a school, whatever its size, that intends to deliver a "gold standard" educational experience that develops the whole person and gives students an opportunity to take their place in top universities worldwide", he explained.
The newspaper reported last October that over the past four years the number of schools teaching the IB in the UK has more than doubled to 101, nearly half of which are in the independent sector.
His remarks come as an article published in the Independent calls for pupils to be given better information about their options, including alternative qualifications to the standard GCSEs and A-levels.
The author, Conor Ryan, a former senior education adviser to Tony Blair and David Blunkett, argues that "not all A-levels are of equal value" and says "where students would benefit from diplomas, apprenticeships or the IB, they should be encouraged to do them, even if they are not offered in the school sixth form".