School celebrates leading status

Principal Sarah Welch said she had arrived at the school at the right time

An Isle of Man school has been named the best International Baccalaureate (IB) school in the British Isles.

King Williams' College in Castletown took the title in an annual survey of the UK's best schools, ranked and published by The Sunday Times.

More than half of the boarding school's pupils were awarded the top two grades of six and seven, while the school as a whole had a 100% pass rate.

Principal Dr Sarah Welch said: "It's a marvellous coup.

The IB is an international diploma which is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to traditional A-Levels.

Boarding school

Sixth form pupils at King William's College study for the diploma and results have been improving year on year, Dr Welch added.

"It's very exciting and I find myself in the right place at the right time," she said.

"Having just taken over as principal at King Williams, it's very gratifying to be arriving at a time when the school is celebrating such success.

"The education that we provide for our sixth form pupils through the IB diploma is really outstanding."

King William's College opened as a boys boarding school in August 1833 and now has more than 600 pupils.