The International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate is a globally recognised diploma. It seeks to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young adults who are prepared for the modern world. The diploma programme is built around a mission statement, known as the learner profile, which is a set of learning outcomes for all IB students. It provides a vision of education that hopes to inspire, motivate and focus the work of schools and teachers, uniting them in a common purpose. All IB students should aspire to become:

The IB is every bit as specialist as the A level programme with IB students choosing to study three subjects in depth - the higher level subjects. Higher levels will largely determine the subject an IB student will study at university. In addition, IB students also choose three contrasting subjects to study in less depth - the standard level subjects. The role of standard levels is not only to give breadth to a student’s education, but also to develop skills that studying three specialised subjects in isolation would not.

IB students choose subjects from six groups:

Group 1: First Language
Group 2: Second Language
Group 3: Individuals and Societies
Group 4: Experimental Sciences
Group 5: Mathematics
Group 6: The Arts

A subject must be taken from each of the first five groups, with a sixth subject being taken from any one of the six groups. It is not compulsory, therefore, for IB students to take a subject from group 6. The principal form of assessment for each subject is a terminal exam which is graded 1 – 7, with 7 being the highest score a student can attain.

A core consisting of three elements links the diploma subjects:
Theory of Knowledge
Extended Essay
Creativity, Action, Service (CAS)

IB students are awarded a maximum of 3 points for their performance across the core.

IB Top Scorers

Lara, a boarder in Oakley House, studied the IB Diploma at Bromsgrove School. She chose HL Maths (Analysis and Approaches), HL Physics, HL German A (Language & Literature), HL English B, SL French B and SL History. On Results Day, Lara achieved a perfect score of 45 points. She now plans to take a gap year before studying a STEM-related subject at university.		Izzy joined Bromsgrove School in 2015 and completed her IB Diploma in 2022. She studied Chemistry HL, Biology HL, History HL, English A SL, French B SL and Maths SL. She now goes on to study Medicine at Leicester University.
Daniil, a boarder from Housman Hall, scored the maximum 45 points on IB Results Day. At Bromsgrove School, he studied Chemistry HL, Biology HL, Maths HL, English B HL, Russian A SL and Economics SL. He now goes on to study Biochemistry at St Andrew’s.		Chris is from Germany. Whilst at Bromsgrove School, he boarded in Elmshurst House and studied the IB Diploma during his Sixth Form years. His subject choices were German A HL, English B HL, Economics HL, Biology HL, Maths SL and History SL. He now goes on to study Commerce at the Rotman School of Management, Toronto University.

• IB Organisation website (external link)
• IB Learner Profile
• Academic Documents