The IB diploma: what Hong Kong parents need to know about the A-levels alternative
Twenty-nine Hong Kong schools offer the International Baccalaureate diploma, but are IB pupils more or less likely to get into their university of choice and will it suit your child? We ask the experts
To do the IB, or not to do the IB? That – given the argument that surrounds curriculum choice in Hong Kong – is the question, especially in an expatriate community where the International Baccalaureate is not always fully understood.
It is interesting that the dilemma persists. While not as old an examination as A-levels, which were introduced in 1951, the IB is not a baby: it was conceived in Switzerland in 1948. French educator Marie-Therese Maurette, then head of the International School of Geneva, developed the structure for what has evolved into the IB when she wrote Is There a Way of Teaching for Peace?, a handbook for Unesco.
IB or DSE? Pros and cons of Hong Kong secondary school curriculums explained
For the schools today that offer all three components of the full IB – the primary years programme, middle years programme and the sixth-form diploma programme – there is the advantage of curriculum continuity through a child’s school career. But globally only 200 schools offer all three simultaneously, with only five doing so in Hong Kong.
The IB diploma programme – referred to as the IB for the sake of this article – is the best known and oldest of the three components. According to the International Baccalaureate organisation, it is offered in 95 schools in mainland China and 29 in Hong Kong. But what is it composed of and how is it different from A-levels? What do universities think of it? And why do some schools and pupils embrace it, while others resist?
First, pupils who take the IB study more subjects than those who take A-levels. They are examined on six subjects: three at higher level, three at standard. Pupils choose one subject from each of five groups and a sixth from any group. The five groups are: language and literature, language acquisition (a second language), individuals and societies (geography, history, psychology or anthropology), sciences (biology, chemistry, physics), maths and computer science (maths is mandatory, computer science elective), and the arts (visual arts, theatre, music).