Pioneering school adopts diploma

By Mike Chilvers
BBC News Online

Harrogate Grammar has one of the largest sixth forms in the country

A secondary school in Harrogate is set to become the first in Yorkshire to offer its sixth form students an alternative to A-levels.

From next September, Harrogate Grammar School pupils will be able to opt instead to take the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma.

Only two other schools in the north of England have adopted IB.

"It is a huge and bold step," admits Harrogate Grammar's sixth form head Jan Sherwood.

"But we expect that as the only state school in the region offering IB it will be very attractive to a lot of students."

The school's IB co-ordinator, Mike Bailey, says the demanding six-subject diploma is aimed at the more academic student and "is not for the faint-hearted".

This year's sixth formers will be the last to study A-levels only

Students taking "the bac" choose a subject from each of six areas: English, a foreign language, a humanity (geography or history), a science, maths and the arts.

This is said to appeal to those who criticise A-levels for having too narrow a focus.

For the international bac, which was launched in 1968, students take three of the subjects to "standard" level and three to "higher".

This, according to the IB Schools and Colleges Association, is equivalent to at least four and a half A-levels.

Students have to submit a long essay during the two-year course and are also taught critical thinking, with the aim of giving them a more analytical understanding of subjects.

Proponents of IB say the marking system is better than A-levels at telling the brightest students apart - a key issue for universities.

It will be a leap of faith for them to do something so new IB co-ordinator Mike Bailey

The top grades (6 and 7) in bacs are regarded as the equivalent to a lower and top-of-the-range A grade at A-level.

This year, 22.4% of A-level entries in the UK gained an A grade. The figure for a grade 7 in bacs was between 5% and 10%.

Head of sixth Mrs Sherwood said: "With IB there are better opportunities for differentiation at the top end and universities recognise that.

"It is not our intention to get rid of A-levels, but rather to broaden the curricilum."

'Pioneering' move

Mr Bailey has spent the last 12 months setting up a study programme suitable for the school and acceptable to the Geneva-based International Baccalaureate Organisation, whose inspectors are due to visit the school this month to authorise its plans.

Assuming it gets the go-ahead, Harrogate Grammar expects 30 or 40 of this year's GCSE students to form the first IB cohort next year and that number to increase over coming years.

Mr Bailey said: "It is a great unknown in terms of how many people will opt for this.

"It will be a leap of faith for them to do something so new and that might put some off initially."

It is more expensive for schools to run...so I don't think all schools will jump on this bandwagon Mike Bailey

Their progress will be keenly followed by North Yorkshire County Council, the local education authority.

The council's chief schools adviser Richard Geoghegan says the eyes of the county's education chiefs will be on Harrogate to see how it handles the introduction of IB.

"It is a pioneering move for North Yorkshire and we will be very interested to see how it works out," he told BBC Online.

"I think a lot of schools are happy Harrogate is taking this risk, albeit a calculated risk, and it is very useful for us as an authority to see how it goes. Personally, I'm sure it will be a success.

"If we see parents clamouring to get their kids on IB that would be a sign for the school to expand it and maybe other schools to consider going down this route."

More 'expensive'

However, just as IB may not suit all students, adopting the diploma may not suit all schools.

With 450 students, Harrogate Grammar has one of the largest sixth forms in the country.

Smaller schools may not find it feasible to introduce the diploma from a financial point of view.

Mr Bailey estimates that his school has spent around £30,000 setting up the diploma and training teachers.

"It is more expensive for schools to run per candidate than A-levels so I don't think all schools will jump on this bandwagon," he said.

The school is to host an IB information evening for parents at 7.30pm on Wednesday 24 November.