Does the baccalaureate beat A-levels?

This year's A-level fiasco has left schools looking for alternatives. Diana Hinds finds that many British pupils already choose the International Baccalaureate for its breadth and flexibility

Schools' confidence in A-levels has been badly shaken by this year's regrading fiasco. As teachers and pupils pick up the pieces, some are looking with increasing interest at what an alternative examination, such as a baccalaureate, might offer.

There is more than one bac to choose from – including the French, the European and the Welsh. But it is the International Baccalaureate (IB), some 30 years old, administered from Geneva and studied in more than 100 countries, that has so far found favour here. At the latest count, 47 schools now offer the IB, and 22 of those are state schools.

One of the recent converts to the IB is King's College School, Wimbledon, a boys' independent school. Tony Evans, the headteacher, had doubts from the start about the AS structure and its apparent breadth, because he could see that pupils could end up doing four very similar subjects. The IB, in contrast, seems to have cultural breadth, as well as international appeal, and an outward-looking feel, he says. It would also be more stretching for abler pupils, he thinks.

All IB students take six subjects, three at a higher and three at a lower level, including maths, a science, English, and a foreign language. They also follow a theory of knowledge programme, which emphasises critical thinking, write a 4,000-word essay, and undertake 150 hours of community, sports and creative activities.

At King's College School the IB is in its second year, and already half the sixth-formers are choosing it over A-levels. Parents are strongly supportive. "As one parent said to me, to opt for A-level when you've got the IB is like opting for the Italian lire when you've got the euro," says Tony Evans.

The UK, he argues, is out of step with much of the rest of the world in allowing pupils to drop subjects such as maths and languages before leaving school. The key to the IB's success is more to do with psychology than pupils' ability: persuading pupils of the importance of continuing with the subjects they don't most relish.

"These boys will be going into an international world," says Mr Evans. "They will have to be more versatile than we were to meet the challenges from their contemporaries in other countries." Bedford High School began the IB this term, the first girls' independent school to do so (with North London Collegiate thought to be considering it too). Gina Piotrowska, the headteacher, is taking things slowly – just 12 IB students this year, and 25 to 30 next. She is convinced that the qualification will be of enormous value in a global society.

The IB suits the girl who is the able all-rounder, she believes. It also helps to be well organised and disciplined. Universities are already writing to the school to express an interest in IB students, she says, but the school will look carefully at university requirements before recommending that a girl does the programme.

The IB need not be only the preserve of very able students. Impington Village College in Cambridgeshire, whose large sixth form includes pupils from 35 countries, started the IB 12 years ago with 11 students, and numbers have grown to around 150 (with a similar number taking A-levels). "The IB accommodates a broader range of ability than the British tend to think," says Sandra Morton, the director of Impington Sixth Form Centre. Students can pass the IB diploma (and get a university place) with 24 points, or gain flying colours with a mark in the 40s.

"We believe it suits students who are good all-rounders and want to go to university. These tend to be students with Bs rather than Cs at GCSE. But some with Cs can manage the IB – if they want it enough."

Motivation is vital, agrees Heather Mulkey, the dean of admissions for the American Community Schools (in Hillingdon, Cobham and Egham), which adopted the IB in the mid-Seventies, and now teach it to increasing numbers of British students.

"Much has been made of its academic rigour, but it is also tremendously flexible, allowing students to pursue and excel in their strengths, while maintaining knowledge in other areas," she says.

Three tiers of maths courses accommodate a wide spread of ability, so that a gifted mathematician takes maths higher (possibly more challenging than A-level), while an averagely able one takes maths methods, and a slightly less able (C grade at GCSE) is well served by maths studies.

"Students need maths throughout their lives," argues Heather Mulkey, "so it is important to maintain the subject."

education@independent.co.uk