13th February 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
As a student who sat A-levels at school, I can extol the virtues and point out the problems of such a system with little thought. But when comparing it to the International Baccalaureate system, better known as the IB, I realised I know very little about its structure, examinations and teaching. So is there really a superior choice between the two? Those schools teaching IB would have us believe that universities are very interested in seeing those students who have IB qualifications as it makes them stand out amongst the reams of straight A students with there A level certificates. However, others claim that this is an outdated way of thinking and there is not much difference between the two systems.
Yet if one looks closer at the structure of study for both qualifications, there are a number of obvious differences. As most people will be aware, the majority of A level students tend to take 4 AS subjects with examinations at the end of the year which count towards their final A level grade. The following year, one subject can be dropped and A2 exam results are added to AS results to produced a final grade. In IB, a student takes six subjects, three at a higher level and three at a standard level. These must include maths, a science, English and at least one foreign language.
As a bit of an all-rounder, for me, I don’t think the IB would have been a particular problem. However, for some students, the ability to write essays comes second to solving equations and working out formulae. In those instances, the specialist nature of A levels are a much better preparation for the student’s future. For a child wanting to become an engineer or scientist, the ability to read French texts or write a 4,000 word extended essay is neither necessary nor in most cases enjoyable.
While experts often see the IB as more of an ethos about educational style, A levels places emphasis on greater depth of knowledge in a particular subject. As a Classics and English student at university, I know first-hand how one loses such knowledge by not studying one subject alone. This leads me to believe that children should be allowed the choice between the two systems, having been educated on their differences. If they are allowed to make their own decision at the age of 17 regarding which subjects they would like to study, why not allow them to choose the system as well?