apply online button
School Leavers
Skip Navigation LinksHome > 14 - 18 > Courses and Apprenticeships > Subjects > International Baccalaureate

International Baccalaureate

Keen to follow an internationally recognised course before you go to university? Interested in pursuing an exciting and wide ranging programme of study?

Why not study the International Baccalaureate (IB) at Exeter College?

We were one of the first colleges in the country to offer this challenging course and our results over the last 19 years have been excellent. You’ll be in small classes with experienced and inspiring teachers and a whole range of materials to access to help you learn.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma is a challenging and highly respected academic programme taught in over 2500 schools and colleges worldwide. The IB is an internationally recognised qualification made up of six subjects and the course is equivalent to a full A Level programme. It is enthusiastically accepted by universities in the UK and overseas and allows you to study a wide range of degree courses from medicine to fine art.

Meet our current IB students who are featured in the IB World Schools Yearbook

What are the advantages of taking the IB Diploma rather than A Levels?

  • University and the workplace are increasingly inter-disciplinary, drawing on people's skills and knowledge from a range of subjects. The Diploma provides you with just this.
  • You will continue to study Maths and a Foreign Language, enhancing your employability.
  • Universities like the qualities that IB students possess! Feedback shows that they are impressed by IB students' higher level study skills.

  • What will I study?

    The Diploma ensures you maintain a breadth of subjects, but enables you to specialise in the Sciences, Humanities or Languages.

    You will study six subjects (three at Higher and three at Standard Level) including English, Maths, Foreign Languages, Sciences, Humanities and/or Art courses.

    The IB includes a core programme of Theory of Knowledge (TOK), a research essay and creative, active and voluntary projects (CAS).

    IB Circle

  • What are the entry criteria?

    To study the IB you need enthusiasm and commitment as it is harder work than just taking 3 A Levels - more akin to doing four. Your timetable will be no fuller than your current GCSSE timetable and the benefits the qualificiation provides far outweigh this.

    You will need to achieve a minimum of 7 B grades at GCSE including Maths and English and higher grades for the subjects you wish to study at higher level.

  • Why study the IB at Exeter College?

    • We have been teaching the IB Diploma at Exeter College for 20 years.
    • We provide a stimulating enviroment with highly qualified teachers and small class sizes to help you fulfil your potential.
    • We consistently achive results that far exceed world average scores.
    • In 2013 IB students secured one-quarter of all the Oxbridge places gained by College students.
    • 50% of 2013's cohort got places at Russell Group universities.
    • Our IB course has a range of nationalities, background and life experiences.
    • You will be part of a small, friendly, well-motivated and highly supportive group within one of the UK's top FE colleges, and all the opportunities that provides.

    For further information on the International Baccalaureate please contact Michelle Lester, IB Co-ordinator via email on michellelester@exe-coll.ac.uk or Sue Voysey, IB Administrator via email on suevoysey@exe-coll.ac.uk

 

Potential progression options for courses in this subject area include:

  • Many IB students plan ahead to take gap years and apply to university during that year, supported by the college. For example, one of the students who finished last year is currently working with International Citizen Service in Ghana and lots are travelling in all sorts of exciting places (for example, New Zealand, Vietnam, Kenya).
  • Nearly all applicants get their first choice places at university including, in 2015, one student recently progressed to the University of Oxford to read Russian and French and many went on to Russell Group universities.
Did you know?

Our students results are often in the top 5% in the world.

Students on the International Baccalaureate course at Exeter College have been raising the awareness of the International Peace Day - September 21st - with a set of activities based on the theme 'Who will you make peace with'.

What our students are saying

The reason I did the IB is because I couldn’t narrow down all the things I wanted to study, it keeps you really broad…if I change my mind and decide I don’t want to study physics in future and instead want to do English at university I could. The IB is so broad and employers love it – especially the fact you have English and maths to a higher level.

Susanna, International Baccalaureate (IB)

I chose to study the IB mainly because it is such an all-rounded course, and it meant that I had lots of doors open to different career paths. My main achievement has probably been the confidence I have gained as an individual, not only through the IB, but also through the extracurricular activities, such as Model United Nations and the Reach academy. I have also improved my organisation, and I’m really enjoying my course.

Roslyn, International Baccalaureate (IB)

I would like to thank Exeter College and all the teachers for great support throughout the IB, it was definitely worth travelling up every day for that! As well as that, I'd also say that the IB has given me a great platform to progress from, as I have been able to study more subjects than I would have been able to at A Levels, and In general, I'm blown away by the results!

Sam, International Baccalaureate (IB)

I loved that I could carry on with such a breadth of subjects in a smaller group of students within the larger college framework and also that the IB is an international qualification meaning that it is recognised all of the world, as travel is something that I love to do. Although the IB has been a very challenging course, the support and help from all the teachers and other IB students has been amazing and made my time at college even more enjoyable. The independence college gives you and the sense of community within the city adds a great deal to college life.

Felicity, International Baccalaureate (IB)
back to top