by Emma Kingston

ACS Egham International School announced last week that for the 6th year running, its students have achieved a 100 per cent pass rate in this year’s International Baccalaureate (IB) exams. The average score was 33 points, equivalent of 489 UCAS points or 4 As at A-level. The school’s star students were Charl Basson and Sebastien Geius who both achieved a score of 39, which is the equivalent of 628 UCAS points or four A* grades at A-level. Students from ACS Egham will now be embarking on universities across the globe including the United Kingdom and America.

Charl commented: “The International Baccalaureate shows you a variety of different perspectives and encourages you to be open-minded and reflective, which I feel will help me to thrive at university, and beyond.”

The release of ACS Egham’s IB results coincides with the launch of ACS International School’s research report into the view of university admissions officers on post-16 qualifications, which is now in its fourth year of publication. The research found that the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma remains the most highly-regarded post 16-qualification among university admissions officers. The combination of qualities developed by the IB Diploma, including self management and creativity, are some of the factors which explain why the IB Diploma is considered an excellent preparation for university-style learning. In particular, 62 per cent of admissions officers claim that the IB develops self-management skills, as compared to just 39 per cent who feel that this is a quality nurtured by A levels. Almost three quarters, 73 per cent, of admissions officers want to see the IB on offer in more state schools, almost two years after state funding for this independent qualification was withdrawn.

University admissions officers recognise the academic rigour of the IB Diploma with just one per cent of IB students awarded the top score of 45 points each year: 78 per cent of admissions officers say that it is harder to achieve the top IB Diploma score than it is to achieve top scores in A levels.