The decision over whether to take the IB or A-Levels in Years 12 and 13 depends on the young person in question. Angloslav advises clients on an individual basis, according to what a student’s personality and outlook is like.
The ideal IB student is highly disciplined and organised in order to take on the workload of six subjects. They wish to have a broader knowledge of the world, which will be satisfied by a wide rather than narrow scope of study at Sixth Form. They are also grounded and practical in their approach to academic study and are comfortable studying all aspects of a course, rather than single strand. For example, an IB student who wishes to take Biology should want to study the multiple topics covered in the course, including human biology, botany and zoology, rather than just human biology.
A-Levels are well suited for students who wish to make an in-depth study of four particular subjects and commit themselves fully to a particular field of study, prior to university entry. Other subjects that they wish to explore and try out can be taken through extracurricular activities and courses, such as a creative writing workshop or a summer engineering programme. Angloslav advises such students on the best extracurricular courses to participate on in order to determine whether their interest in a topic is genuine or fleeting.
Students who wish to pursue their undergraduate study outside of the UK in Europe or the United States may be advised to take the International Baccalaureate. Nonetheless, this choice would still depend on the young person’s ability to be meticulous and well prepared to effectively study for the IB Diploma.