State school achieves stellar results at inaugural IB Diploma Exams

Europa School UK students and staff were celebrating together following the release of their first ever set of International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma results that will enable students to attend some of the best universities in the world including Oxbridge and universities across Europe such as Heidelberg, Germany and Leiden, The Netherlands.

100% of the students passed the diploma with an average mark of 36 (equivalent to 3 As at A-Level), the average mark for the IB diploma worldwide this year was 32.  Testament to the multilingual model of this unique state school, half of the students (double the global average) gained a bilingual diploma in a range of languages including French, German and Swedish. More than a third were awarded 40 points and above out of a possible maximum of 45 (40 points equates to 4 A*s at A level).

“For every student to achieve the Diploma and 50% also to get the Bilingual Diploma would be spectacular at any time, but in the first year, it is stellar!”  Terry Stock, the Chair of Governors enthused.

Europa School UK, a non-selective international state school in Oxfordshire, became an accredited IB World School in 2020 after Brexit required them to change their curriculum at very short notice.

“This is an amazing result for the school. I am so happy that we have achieved such a high standard in our first IB Diploma session.”  said Lynn Wood, Principal. 

In the UK, the IB is studied mainly by young people in years 12 and 13 as an alternative to A-levels; it offers a broad curriculum with students studying 6 subjects instead of the standard 3 or 4 at A level. This allows students to make life choices later. It is an excellent preparation for work and university and is highly valued worldwide. 

The school staff and governors celebrated with the students and families on Friday 8th July; the sun shone on  the beautiful quad for their Baccalaureate Proclamation. They welcomed local dignitaries to the event including John Howell, MP and Fulvio Militello of UKAEA in Culham, a neighbour and long time supporter of the school. Many teachers and other staff also joined the celebrations. 

Europa School UK, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year, is one of the first free schools to open in Oxfordshire. It is an all-through (4-18) school where students study through two languages. It has a unique bilingual model in Primary with 2.5 days taught in English and 2.5 days in either French, German or Spanish. In Secondary the students continue to learn Humanities subjects in their stream language and a third language is studied for at least 5 years. 

In the Sixth Form Diploma Programme a student may study up to three languages overall.  Language A (native speaker level) classes are currently offered in English, French and German with Ukrainian being introduced in September 2022. Europa has recently welcomed 12 students from Ukraine. Many students also take Literature courses in their mother tongue, including Danish, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Swedish, just some of the 72 languages available in the IB Diploma Programme.

Images Courtesy of Anna McKay Photography