Tag Archive: sixth form
Choosing the right sixth form pathway is one of the most important educational decisions parents and students face. In the UK, A-Levels remain the traditional route, but more families are now exploring the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) as a broader, more global alternative.
So how do the two compare? And which is best for your child?
At Scarborough College, we offer the IBDP as our sixth form curriculum because we believe in preparing students not just for exams but for life. Here is what parents need to know when weighing up the options of IBDP vs A-Levels in the UK.
Breadth vs Depth: What Will Your Child Study?
A-Levels allow students to specialise early by choosing three or four subjects. This works well for students who already know what they want to study at university.
In contrast, the IB requires students to study six subjects across different disciplines, including:
- One language
- One humanities subject
- One science
- Mathematics
- One creative subject
- An additional subject of choice
This ensures a broad, balanced education, ideal for students who are still exploring their interests or who thrive across multiple areas.
A Global, Future-Focused Curriculum
The IB Diploma is designed to produce well-rounded, internationally-minded students. In addition to subject choices, all students complete:
Theory of Knowledge (TOK): A critical thinking course
Extended Essay (EE): An independent research project
CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service): A programme that encourages community engagement and personal growth
These elements develop skills that are highly valued by top universities and employers, such as inquiry, independence, and global awareness. The EE in particular is great practice for the type of independent research and writing that is required for studying at degree level.
University Recognition and Admissions
Both A-Levels and the IB Diploma are widely accepted by UK universities, including Oxford and Cambridge. However, the IB is recognised globally by over 5,000 institutions, which is why so many of our students choose to study abroad (including Ivy League Colleges in the USA and top European destinations such as University of Amsterdam).
The structure and intensity of the IBDP also demonstrates a student’s ability to manage a heavy academic workload effectively. In fact, many university admissions tutors report that IB students are often better prepared for the demands of undergraduate study as they have experience of how to learn independently.
Assessment and Exam Structure
A-Levels are assessed mainly through final exams at the end of two years. The IB also includes final exams, but assessment is more varied and ongoing, including internal assessments, coursework, presentations and reflective work. This mix helps reduce the pressure of one-off exams and rewards consistent effort across two years.
It is also helpful that the IBDP exam results are released in early July. This allows for students to confirm their university destination earlier than most, giving them a peaceful and relaxing summer break!
Skills for the Real World
IB students graduate with more than just subject knowledge. The programme is structured so to allow them to leave with strong time management skills, experience in independent research, and a commitment to service and leadership.
The global nature of the study gives IBDP students a cultural fluency and global thinking which is not common among other students.
In contrast, A-Levels are more focused on subject-specific academic depth, but may offer fewer opportunities for personal development outside the classroom.
So, Which is Right for Your Child?
Choose A-Levels if your child:
Prefers to specialise early
Is focused on specific career or university pathways
Works best in a more traditional academic structure
Choose the IB Diploma if your child:
Has wide-ranging academic strengths
Thrives on challenge and variety
Wants a more holistic, international education
Is interested in looking beyond UK universities
Why Scarborough College Offers the IB Diploma
We are proud to be one of the few schools in the UK that offer the full IB Diploma Programme. Our experienced staff, small class sizes, and dedicated support help students excel in both academic and personal growth.
We believe the IBDP is the best curriculum for sixth form students, especially in today’s rapidly changing world and our graduates go on to success at top universities across the UK, Europe, and North America.
Explore the IBDP at Scarborough College
Thinking about sixth form options for your child? We’re here to help. Whether your child is already thriving or ready for a fresh challenge, our IB programme could be the perfect fit.
Join us for our IB Open Event on Thursday 13 November 2025. Or alternatively please email our Admissions Team to arrange a visit.
Scarborough College celebrates a record IB Diploma Programme examination pass rate and a record number of students will be studying medicine
Students and staff assembled at Scarborough College to celebrate a record examination pass rate and fantastic individual results.
With an average points score that, once again, sits very comfortably above the world average, individual highlights were the talk of the College on Sunday 6 July. Over 15% of this year’s cohort will now continue to read medicine at esteemed universities in the United Kingdom and the rest of the world. A quarter of all students achieved 35 points of above, equivalent to two A* and one A at A-Level.
The UK cohort, with a record number of boarding students, can look back on an incredibly successful year with a 100% pass rate and the overall pass rate surpassed 96%. This compares to the world wide average of 81.26%. The highest points scorer was Taptap, from Thailand, who followed his brother’s footsteps with a remarkable 44 points, placing him in the top 1% of the world’s University applicants.
Individual subjects, including Geography, History, Global Politics, Sports Science, and the Arts, all achieved 100% pass rates. Meanwhile, STEM subjects also excelled, with a record number of students set to study medicine next year. These exceptional results reflect the outstanding performance across every department.
Assistant Head (IB), Ms Katie Cooke, said, ‘Huge congratulations to this year’s IB cohort on a fantastic set of results. Your hard work, resilience, and commitment over the past two years have paid off brilliantly, with many of you now set to begin exciting journeys at top universities and in diverse career paths around the globe. These achievements reflect not only your academic strength, but also the determination and character you’ve shown throughout the IB programme. We’re incredibly proud of each and every one of you. Your success is well deserved, and we can’t wait to see what you accomplish next.”
Mr Guy Emmett, Headmaster of Scarborough College, added, ‘I’m delighted with this year’s record-breaking IB results. The exceptional pass rate, impressive average points score, and the outstanding university placements are a testament to an extraordinary year. Our students have not only excelled academically but have also made significant contributions to every facet of school life. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to each of them, and I’m excited for the bright future that lies ahead. A special thank you to our dedicated teaching staff and the unwavering support of our families’
On Friday 1 March, top performing Year 11 students from across Scarborough are being invited to attend the College’s Sixth Form Scarborough Scholar Day, a gateway to unlocking their full academic potential.
For over 120 years, Scarborough College has provided a first class education for deserving students in the area who demonstrate obvious academic potential. As part of our ongoing commitment to fostering talent and reaching out to the local area, the College holds two scholarship events each year – the Scarborough Scholar (Years 7-9) and the Sixth Form Scarborough Scholar (Year 11) – offering scholarships to those who achieve standout results.
The Sixth Form Scarborough Scholar Day is designed to showcase the range of opportunities available at Scarborough College. The day will feature two assessments followed by an interview with our upper school teaching team. It’s a relaxed atmosphere where students will have the chance to interact with our current cohort, explore our modern facilities, and eat lunch in our Sixth Form cafe – a literal taster day of the vibrant academic life at Scarborough College.
At Scarborough College, our Sixth Form students thrive in the globally recognized International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), which is unique in the local area. To explain the differences between the IBDP and A Levels, and to offer insights into the Sixth Form Scarborough Scholar initiative, we have prepared a guide to the IB, which you can view and download.
If you would like to register to attend the Sixth Form Scarborough Scholar day, please do so by using our application page. In addition to the registration form, we will also require the student’s latest school report, GCSE grade predictions, and a brief reference from the school.
A word from our students
The IBDP is a very different system to A Levels, ensuring that students take a broader range of subjects up to pre-University level. We asked some of our former IBDP students to give their opinions on the qualification.
Why the IB?
Ivan: “I could gain more advantages from doing the IB, for example in my writing skills. People still don’t know how to cite in university. However, having done the IB I already have experience in how to do this, giving me an advantage over many other students.”
How does the IB prepare for academic life?
Megan: “Very well I would like to think. Time management is super important in balancing all the work and coursework at university and I learnt many of these skills whilst doing the IB. Many universities have a six module structure (mine does) and so the IB six subjects almost creates perfect practice for this.”
Is the Diploma Programme flexible in terms of choosing your course?
Hattie: “I wanted to do Graphic Design originally and changed my mind at the last minute. Because I had Geography as a higher level subject, it was no problem to switch to apply for a Geography degree.”
If you had to give advice to someone starting the IBDP?
Chris: “Your learning style will need to be more active than GCSEs. Show that you understand your subject rather than just remembering it.”
By Hope, Year 12, Weaponness
With the new year just beginning, and spring cleaning right around the corner, everyone wants a fresh canvas to start off their year. Why not start with the one place you spend most of the time? The bedroom. In the boarding houses, you are free to decorate your room the way you want, to give it your own personal touch and to give you the sense that you are still at home. You can adapt it so that you have a colour theme that you and your roommate want and go decor shopping together which is also a nice way to break the ice.
First up! Let’s look at textiles
In my opinion the best place to start is your bed. You can get a range of bedding from lots of affordable stores like Dunelm, Argos and a variety of online stores like Aayfair or Dusk. Then you can either leave it at that or take it a step further and add throw pillows and blankets which you can also get at these stores linked above. You can also add a rug, either to make the room less echoey or just to make it feel more homely. It could be fluffy, full of patterns, plain or whatever takes your fancy.
Dressing up the walls
Pictures of your family, friends and pets back home; memories that you want to look at everyday are the best place to start. To get these, you can use anything to capture a memory, for example with your phone camera or, if you really like photography, you can use a proper camera. A simple option is something like a disposable camera. Anything goes because at the end of the day this is your room to style. You can get pictures blown up or printed online for really cheap from places like Free prints or you can go in-store to most Boots shops (which is like a health and beauty shop) and get pictures printed. Pictures can go anywhere, any spare place on the wall or you can frame them. You can even make a gallery wall. Whatever you do, you don’t want to destroy the paint and you may not have the tools to hang pictures. My advice: Use command strips.
Command strips are easy and quick to use. When you get these, you need to use four of the strips given to you. Firstly, you peel one of the back off the strip and place it on one side of the picture frame so that you can feel the rough side and then do the same to the other side. So there you have used two of the strips then stick the other two strips on them, so that the rough parts are together and the sticker part is still there to use. Then peel the paper off the sticker and place on the wall, making sure it is how you want it. To make sure it is secure you need to press against the command strips on the wall and then check it is how you like it et voila!
When you want to remove it, carefully remove the picture and you will see the command strips separate and you will see a tab on the command strip on the wall. Just pull it down and keep pulling until it comes off the wall. You can get command strips from places like amazon or any supermarket like Sainsbury’s. They range from about £2.50-£10.00, they can vary in size and how many are in a pack, depending on what you are needing to hang. This is the command strip I use myself and would recommend: Command PH203-18NA Hanging Strips, White, Small and Medium. You can get it from Amazon for £9.99.
If pictures are not what you want, then maybe posters of your favorite places or movies. Or even complete an empty piece of wall with a tapestry if you want more of a boho theme, for which you can also use command strips to hang.
Knick-knacks and organisation
These are the extra things that you want. So things to fill blank spaces, decorative pieces or things to make your room smell fabulous. You may also want to be super organised, in which case you can get a little bits-and-bobs drawer or bins to put clothes or bags in. With all these things, I would recommend you wait to buy until you arrive because not only will these take up valuable space in your luggage, you don’t really know what room you will be working with, so you won’t know how much space you will have to decorate.
Introducing Mrs Helen Lay, teacher of Ethics, Philosophy and Religious Education
Not all teachers are the same. But guess what? Not all subjects are the same either. In this blog, we want to highlight some of the lesser-known or lesser-understood subjects on our curriculum. Starting this series, Helen Lay is teacher of ethics, philosophy, religious education and Theory of Knowledge. Known to staff and students as ToK, theory of knowledge is one of the core requirements of the IB Diploma.
Although Mrs Lay came from a long generation of teachers in her family, it was never her intention to become a teacher herself. Far from it, she remembers her religious education lessons are incredibly dull and uninspiring and Mrs Lay was determined not to be the third generation of teachers.
Back at secondary school, a cover teacher changed Mrs Lay’s attitude towards religious education. All of a sudden, she recalls, the lessons sprung to life when pupils were asked to explore their beliefs. When the cover teacher started inspiring pupils to discuss topics that ranged from totem poles to reincarnation, Mrs Lay remembers thinking, ‘Does she realise which lesson she’s meant to be teaching?’
Fast forward twenty years and Helen Lay made a career change into education, so that she could be more creative and start making a difference to young people’s lives. Remembering the inspiration of her religious education lessons, it was clear that she wanted to teach philosophy and religion. ‘It was clear,’ Mrs Lay added. ‘That I wanted to share my love for these subjects and challenge students to think about life in a meaningful way.’ Ever since this career change, she has been committed to creating and developing lessons that make learning relevant and enjoyable. So much so that Mrs Lay will challenge anyone calling her lessons boring!
Mixing up religion, business studies and art
It is easy and tempting to separate curriculum subjects by the different teachers, classrooms and textbooks; a school bell does the trick. Students pack of their bags and their Chromebooks, clear their minds of whatever that has been done in this period and either look forward to – or dread – the next one. Where Helen Lay is concerned, crossing over subjects is really where the fun starts.
Mrs Lay’s philosophy is as straightforward as it is convincing: If you want to help students succeed, you have to provide a variety of different lesson styles. She talks about a lesson she taught recently in a Year 8 classroom. Students were challenged to promote a piece of religious art to prospective buyers. The buyers had a generous amount of fake money and could take part in either a silent auction or an actual roleplay auction. ‘Of course it was fun,’ Lay admits. ‘But it gave the students an opportunity to show their skills in delivering a powerful sales pitch.’ The following lesson saw the students writing a letter to the church. ‘This is where they had to explain why they had bought this particular piece of religious art, identify truth and interpretation.’
Mindfulness and Yorkshire Grit
In many ways, the Yorkshire Grit programme has transformed co-curricular life at Scarborough College. Nationally recognised for its innovative character, Yorkshire Grit does what it says on the tin. Children are taken out of their comfort zones and introduced to new challenges, new obstacles and new triumphs; providing Yorkshire Grit. However, it is important to point out that Yorkshire Grit is more than surfing in the freezing North Sea or learning bushcraft skills that would make Bear Grylls’s mouth water. Again, Mrs Lay’s ideas come from outside the box.
To Helen Lay, Yorkshire Grit provided an opportunity to confront students with a challenge of a different kind. This was mindfulness. Mrs Lay dedicated the past few years developing a mindfulness programme that could fit inside the Yorkshire Grit programme, aimed at students in Years 7 to 9. ‘Mindfulness is looking after the mind and the body,’ Lay explains. ‘Tailored to these age groups, mindfulness is there to provide students with the tools to manage their own mental health.’
Sessions typically include relaxation techniques and positive thinking activities that encourage student reflection and self esteem. Mrs Lay is convinced that in today’s extremely busy world – including that of secondary school students – it is absolutely crucial to teach the value of non-religious meditation. Taught in small groups, students have an opportunity to explore different approaches to possible issues such as sleeping problems, stress of worries. The aim is that these sessions develop resilience, confidence and – it goes without saying – Yorkshire Grit. The programme has been so successful that it is not uncommon for enthusiastic parents to ask Mrs Lay if they, too, can sign up.
Theory of Knowledge
The ToK is unique to the International Baccaulareate. Full name Theory of Knowledge, this subject teaches students essential critical thinking skills that are so important in higher education. ToK is a core requirement of the IB Diploma but it also provides an opportunity for students to develop an open-minded approach to life. And if that’s not enough, it may provide an addition three core points.
‘I remember being 18 and being convinced I knew everything,’ Lay says. ‘It’s only later that you realise how much you didn’t know.’ to counter that conviction, ToK is a fantastic way to broaden students’ knowledge and understanding of the world. ‘We explore questions about science, religion, the arts, history and indigenous knowledge.’ In some sense, one could argue that ToK challenges the very nature of fake news. It allows students to question the reliability of what they know, to encourage to question what they know and to check the knowledge that they gain and have gained. ‘Students are challenged to question their own trust in their sense perception and intuition, and to consider the value of different perspectives,’ Mrs Lay continues. ‘I enjoy making these lessons enjoyable while at the same time helping students to start seeing the world as it is, as opposed to how they may see it right now.’
If you would like to know more about the IB Diploma Programme, click here to explore the IB Diploma Programme description or here to discover the Scarborough College Sixth Form. For more information about Mindfulness, please check the Websites below. To find out more about the Yorkshire Grit programme, visit the dedicated Yorkshire Grit page.
Guided confidence meditation for kids (and adults)
Young Minds
Compass Buzz
World Sleep Day – Importance of sleep
Scarborough College provides the IB Diploma Programme for its Sixth Form students. As a relatively new diploma in the United Kingdom, we often get asked not only what the IB is but also what the benefits of this qualification are. Indeed, if there are any benefits at all. We have gone some way to explaining the IB Diploma Programme here and this blog post aims to explain some of what, we believe, are the benefits of the IB Diploma.
The IB Diploma is a rigorous course and students thinking about going to an IB Sixth Form should consider this. Although the IB diploma might be considered the option for ‘cleverer’ or more academic students, it is actually a student’s motivation and commitment that counts. How determined are you? How organised are you? Are you prepared and committed to studying both inside and outside the classroom?
Our aim is to match this commitment and, where possible, go above and beyond it in terms of our support and guidance. This goes for both support while working towards the Diploma but also support in university placements and support with the Extended Essay, the CAS, time management and much more. This support is given by dedicated tutors, the IB Co-ordinator, Head of Sixth Form and of course the Careers Counsellor.
Opting for the IB Diploma means a more rigorous course and quite possibly a much bigger challenge but it also means being able to prepare for academic rigour and demands within an environment of support. Take the Core Requirement of the Extended Essay for instance. Although essay-writing is commonplace at university, only few will have had much experience and guidance when it comes to meeting strict deadlines and crediting sources prior to starting further education. While it is harder work, having to incorporate the Extended Essay into a body of work that already comprises of six subjects and other Core Requirements, the know-how provided will prove invaluable once the first uni papers are due in.
The Higher Education Statistics Agency report carried out in 2016 seems to echo the sentiment that the IB Diploma is sound preparation for further education. Its findings included a 57% greater likelihood of IB Diploma Programme students attending the UK’s Top 20 universities. It also showed that IB are twice as likely to continue their studies at postgraduate level. The situation in the United States of America is similar in that the Ivy League universities are between 3% and 13% more likely to accept IB Diploma students than other applicants.
For many, choosing the IB Diploma course is about making a choice to prepare for the demands of academic rigour. It is about becoming a more independent and critical thinker and it is about taking intellectual risks. There is, however, more to the IB Diploma than academics. Joining an IB World School also means that you are ready to embrace cultural diversity. The IB Diploma forces you to study a foreign language for example and it requires you to engage with people in a changing world. It is, in short, about more than yourself.
If you are currently considering your future Sixth Form application and you are unsure, try to get in touch with people who have completed their IB Diploma or visit the IBO Website for more information. You can always get in touch with the Admissions Team at Scarborough College to arrange a visit or a taster stay and we offer special information events for Senior School and GCSE students and their parents. Come and see if the IB Diploma is for you.
