Popular with the high-fliers

The latest independent school to opt for the IB is the North London Collegiate, which has chosen the programme after some intensive research. Hilary Wilce looks at the reasons behind its decision

Exasperation with the new AS and A2 exams for sixth-formers has caused North London Collegiate to follow in the footsteps of other top private schools such as Sevenoaks and King's College, Wimbledon, and start offering its students the International Baccalaureate. And where it is going, still more high-flying schools look set to follow.

The move follows intensive research by the school into what the IB curriculum has to offer, how it is seen by universities, and whether parents and students would welcome it. Positive answers to all questions mean it will now embark on teaching the qualification from next September. "We have always been concerned to maintain our levels of scholarship, and to encourage girls to think for themselves, beyond the limits of examinations," says Bernice McCabe, the headmistress, "and when we reviewed to what extent the new curriculum was doing that, we were concerned that the constraints of AS levels were working against that kind of scholarship and rigour."

The school has attempted to build academic enrichment into this curriculum by encouraging girls to examine underlying concepts like "change" and "evidence", and to make links across the curriculum, but the pressure to look for an alternative curriculum became irresistible.

The IB, which demands students follow a broad range of subjects, do a piece of their own research, study the theory of knowledge, and pursue creative, community and sporting activities, seemed attractive.

"It had the same philosophy as the school. It is broad-based, the extended essay allows girls to do their own research, and the theory of knowledge course makes them think deeply about concepts. And everywhere we looked, everyone was enthusiastic. University admissions tutors have been very clear that they like the way IB students think. They say that they often find students not as well-prepared for university as they were. The first year of the sixth form is arguably at a lower level now than it used to be."

The school has been impressed in its early dealings with IB staff, finding them professional and rigorous. "They gave us a kind of mini-inspection, and they certainly didn't seem as if they were touting for customers, which gave us great confidence," says McCabe.

The school offered the course to everyone to avoid any sense of creating an academic elite, and 20 girls out of about 110 signed up for it. Dunja Fehimovic, 16, says she was attracted to it because she likes the idea of something new and may want to study abroad. "And it will make you stand out when it comes to applying for university. Also, my parents thought it was a good idea. They said it was more similar to what they had in Bosnia, where they are from."

Rosemary Macaulay, 16, didn't want to drop the subjects she was good at. "I wanted to keep up some of my science and maths, although I'm not so keen on the other things, like activities, being part of it," she says. "I prefer it if extracurricular things stay extracurricular. But I suppose if you've done so many hours at something it's nice to have it acknowledged."

The IB is well suited to the very able students that North London Collegiate takes, according to Michael Burke, the director of studies. "The theory of knowledge element means they will have to think at a critical level. It's wide-ranging and international, and they appreciate that sort of challenge. Universities tell us they find it increasingly difficult to pick out their best candidates and the IB extends higher than the top of A-level."

Oliver Blond, the deputy head, says staff have been inspired by their five days' of training in Gdansk, Poland, and have come back to school buzzing with ideas for how to implement the IB. The new qualification looks likely to have a knock-on effect within the school, he says, and could also feed into work that that the school is doing to help get a city academy in a deprived area of east London off the ground.

Meanwhile, other big-name private schools have been in touch over the development. One told the school that if a "half-baked" British baccalaureate was on its way in, they were definitely interested in jumping in ahead of this and "getting the real thing".