School’s top scores for IB diploma
A Bath school is celebrating topping the league tables for performance in the International Baccalaureate Diploma. The Royal High School Bath is set to receive a trophy for achieving first place for pupils’ academic achievement in the IB Diploma after the school came top in the IB Schools League Table 2018 published by Bestschools.co.uk. Royal High School girls taking their IB exams in May 2018 averaged 39 out of 45 points, well above the global average of 30 and two points higher than its own average last year. The school’s highest achieving IB student this year, Mashal Ijaz, gained an incredible 45 out of 45 points, a mark achieved by less than 1 per cent globally. She is now studying at the London School of Economics. More than half of the school’s candidates scored over 40 points while over three-quarters (77 per cent) achieved the top six and seven points available in each subject. The Royal High School, which is part of the largest network of girls’ schools in the UK – the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), says it is the only school in Bath and the only GDST school which offers its pupils the chance to opt for either the IB Diploma or A levels in the sixth form. Both are recognised as equal entry qualifications for university. The school has offered the IB Diploma alongside A levels for the last decade. A fifth of the Royal High School’s exam students took the diploma in 2018. Each IB student chooses six subjects to study over the two-year course which are marked out of seven with a further three points available for an extended essay and presentation. Royal High School IB co-ordinator Jude Taylor said: “We are incredibly proud to receive this award recognising the hard work and achievement of our IB students and staff. The popularity of this sixth form choice is continuing to rise among our girls. “Almost a third the current Year 12 students are studying for the IB this year, the highest level since the school introduced the exam. “The IB Diploma is a popular choice as students are beginning to understand the advantages of maintaining a breadth of study for as long as possible. They also understand the value of the skills developed in the programme – communication and presentation skills, collaborative working, research skills, self-management – all skills that increase not only their success at university, but also increase their employability. “It’s a brilliant model for those students who know what they want to do beyond the sixth form as well as those who are unsure.”