St Leonards' students prove to be smarter than the average Baccalaureate candidates

Published on Tuesday 17 February 2009 20:57

ST LEONARDS School in St Andrews has replaced all its traditional A-levels with the International Baccalaureate (IB).

2008 was the first year in which pupils at the school received results, and St Leonards said they were outstanding.

A total of 49 pupils gained the full IB diploma. Six others gained certificates, scoring overall an average of 32 points.

This was above the 2007 world average score of 30, and equivalent to three As and one B at both A Level and Advanced Higher level.

St Leonards is the only school in Scotland to offer only the IB in its senior years.

Currently, there are 167 schools in the UK with IB accreditation, with just two in Scotland. According to the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO), there are another 184 British schools interested in offering it.

The IBO is a non-profit educational foundation, with its headquarters located in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation has three programmes for students aged three to 19 years-old that aim to develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills of children to live, learn and work internationally.

Founded in 1968, the organisation works with 2,517 schools in 132 countries offering education to more than 683,000 students.

The IB diploma is a two-year course, primarily aimed at students aged 16 to 19.

The qualification is widely recognised by the world's leading universities and is taught in English, French and Spanish. For more information go to www.ibo.org.uk.