Comparing IB, A Levels and Other School Qualifications

Boarding schools in the countries covered by this directory do not all teach towards the same final qualification. Some offer a single route, some offer a choice, and some run an international programme alongside the national one. For a family moving between systems, the question is rarely "which is better?" and more often "what is this, who awards it, and what does the school we are considering actually offer?" This guide describes a number of qualifications in neutral terms. It does not rank them and it does not convert one into another.

Start with who awards the qualification

Every qualification has an awarding or regulating body, and the name of that body tells you where to look for authoritative information. In England, Ofqual states that it regulates GCSEs and A levels, along with AS levels and vocational and technical qualifications, as published on its "About us" page on the date accessed. In Scotland the National Qualifications (National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher) appear on the pages of Qualifications Scotland, also referred to as SQA, which publishes statistics for them. In New Zealand the main secondary qualification is NCEA, described on the NZQA website. In Australia, each state or territory has its own certificate authority, for example NESA in New South Wales and the VCAA in Victoria.

When a school brochure uses an abbreviation, find the body behind it and read that body's own description. Treat third-party summaries, including this one, as a starting point only.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland: GCSEs and A levels

GOV.UK describes the key stages of the national curriculum in England. Key stage 4 covers Years 10 and 11 (ages 14 to 16), and most children take GCSEs or other national tests in Year 11. GOV.UK's list of qualification levels places GCSEs at Level 1 and Level 2 depending on grade, and A levels and AS levels at Level 3. It also lists the International Baccalaureate diploma as a Level 3 qualification, within that page's scope of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Those level descriptions are a way of classifying qualifications within one framework. They are not a statement that two qualifications are interchangeable or that one leads more reliably to a university place.

Scotland: National Qualifications

Qualifications Scotland (SQA) publishes data on National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses, and its progression tables show the sequence from National 4 to National 5, National 5 to Higher, and Higher to Advanced Higher. Scottish boarding schools may also offer other qualifications alongside these. The school should be able to say which combination its pupils take and in which years.

The International Baccalaureate

The International Baccalaureate (IB) is an international organisation whose programmes include the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme (DP) and the Career-related Programme. A school must be authorised by the IB to teach these programmes, so a school using the word "IB" in its marketing should be able to say which programme or programmes it is authorised to teach. The IB's own website, ibo.org, is the place to read the current description of each programme and its recognition information. At the time this guide was prepared, that site could not be retrieved for citation, so this guide does not restate programme details such as duration or structure; confirm them there and with the school.

United States: Advanced Placement and the high school diploma

Advanced Placement (AP) is a programme of college-level courses and exams that high school students can take, as described on the College Board website. The College Board states that credit and placement decisions are made by individual colleges and provides a tool for checking each institution's policy. An AP score therefore means different things at different institutions. The high school diploma itself is awarded by the school or its governing authority, and requirements differ by school and state, so ask each school what its graduation requirements are and which courses it offers.

Canada: provincial diplomas

Education in Canada is organised by province or territory. British Columbia's ministry publishes the requirements for the Certificate of Graduation (the Dogwood Diploma): 80 credits, of which at least 16 must be at Grade 12 level, plus graduation assessments in numeracy and literacy, as published on the date accessed. Ontario has its own Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Because I could not retrieve Ontario's official page for this guide, check the Ontario Ministry of Education directly. A boarding school in either province follows its province's certificate unless it also offers another programme.

Australia and New Zealand

In New South Wales, NESA is the authority that sets syllabuses and assessments for NSW schools, and offers HSC results and certificate services. In Victoria, the VCAA describes the Victorian Certificate of Education as the certificate that most Victorian students receive on satisfactory completion of secondary education. Each state's certificate has its own rules for subjects, assessment and how results are reported for further study, which are set out on the relevant authority's site.

In New Zealand, NZQA describes NCEA as the main qualification for secondary school students: three levels, worked through in Years 11 to 13 at school, built from standards that earn credits and assessed through both internal and external assessment, with endorsements recognising achievement at each level or in a course.

Ireland, Switzerland and France

Ireland's Leaving Certificate is run by the State Examinations Commission, Switzerland has the Matura, and France has the Baccalauréat. These official sources could not be retrieved for this guide, so details are deliberately not given here. If a school you are considering teaches one of these, ask it to point you to the awarding body's own page.

How universities treat qualifications

There is no single rule. Each university sets its own admission requirements and decides how to treat qualifications from different systems, and many publish country-specific pages for applicants. The honest approach is to take the course or degree you are interested in, read the entry requirements published by that university, and ask the school how its pupils' qualifications are presented to such institutions. A school cannot promise an outcome, and neither can a qualification.

Check before you decide

• Which qualification or qualifications does the school actually teach, in which years, and which are optional?
• Which body awards each one, and can the school point to that body's page?
• If the school is authorised for an IB programme, which one, and since when?
• What happens if a pupil joins part-way through a course, or changes system mid-way?
• How does the school support pupils whose previous schooling used a different system?
• What do universities in the country you are interested in say on their own pages about the qualifications offered?
• Are there extra costs for examinations, registration or course materials?