New Study Shows That International Baccalaureate Students Perform Better Than A Level Students at UK Universities

Report Also Reveals That IB Leavers are More Likely to be Employed in Graduate Level Jobs and Earn a Higher Median Salary Than A Level and Equivalent Leavers

GENEVA, May 13, 2011 - According to a new study on the performance of International
Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme students in the UK post secondary system
as compared to students with A Level or equivalent qualifications, conducted
by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on behalf of the
International Baccalaureate, a higher percentage of IB students achieve a
first class honours award compared to students holding A Levels or equivalent
qualifications.

IB Diploma Programme entrants are more likely to be enrolled at one of
the UK's top 20 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) than entrants holding
other qualifications.

The report provides an overview of IB student characteristics and
analysis of enrolment patterns at the top HEIs, chosen fields of study,
achievement and non-continuation rates, as well as activities approximately
six months after leaving HEIs.

"These results reinforce yet again that the IB Diploma Programme gives
students the knowledge, skills and attitudes that enables them to excel in
university. The programme is well recognised by the world's leading
universities and truly prepares students for the working world" said Adrian
Kearney, Regional Director for Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

Key findings include:

Achievement - Approximately a fifth (19%) of IB entrants with a full-time
first degree achieved a first class honours award compared to 14.5% of first
degree qualifiers who held A Level or equivalent qualifications. IB students
also achieve more second class honours. IB entrants are almost twice as
likely to study Medicine and Dentistry (5.1%) as A Level entrants (2.9%).
More than double the number of IB entrants attended the top HEIs compared
with A Level entrants, when taken in proportion.

Continuation rates (measure of attrition/dropout) - Results show that
across most subject areas IB entrants were less likely to leave their
institution in the following year without gaining an award, than entrants
holding other types of qualifications. 91.1% of IB entrants continued at the
same institution compared to 89.5% for A level entrants.

Activities of IB leavers - Six months after leaving tertiary studies, IB
students (36%) are almost twice as likely as their A Level and equivalent
peers (18.8%) to pursue further study full time, and more likely to be
employed in graduate level jobs and in higher paid occupations than A Level
and equivalent leavers. A greater proportion of IB than A level leavers are
employed within professional, scientific and technical activities.

Salaries of full-time employed IB leavers - The median annual salary of
IB leavers in full-time paid employment was higher at GBP20,500, than that of
A Level and equivalent leavers at GBP19,000.

The report sources data from the International Baccalaureate and data
from the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the United Kingdom to
identify characteristics and trends of IB students compared with students
holding the more traditional A Levels, Scottish Higher and other level three
qualifications. The majority of the data has been restricted to the academic
year 2008/2009 with some comparisons with the academic year 2007/2008. Of the
423,455 full-time entrants to first degree courses across the 165 HEIs in UK,
1.5%, 56.7% and 10.8% were identified as holding IB qualifications, A Level
qualifications and A Level equivalent qualifications respectively.

This study joins a growing body of evidence that the IB Diploma Programme
prepares students for success at the university level and beyond, including
three recently released studies on the US postsecondary performance of IB
students. The complete study, and others, can be downloaded at:
www.ibo.org/research/programmevalidation/index.cfm

About the International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate is a not-for profit foundation, which
offers three high quality and challenging educational programmes for a
worldwide community of schools. For over 40 years, IB programmes have gained
a reputation for their high academic standards, for preparing students for
life in a globalised 21st century, and for helping to develop the citizens
who will create a better, more peaceful world. The IB currently works with
over 3,230 schools in 141 countries. www.ibo.org

For press information, contact: tim.nettleton@ibo.org

For press information, contact: tim.nettleton at ibo.org, Tel: +41-22-791-73-52: media only