International School Brunei (ISB) celebrated its best ever results in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma examinations after results revealed that the May 2018 cohort far exceeded expectations, obtaining a 34-points average grade (out of a total of 45 points), thoroughly beating the worldwide average of 29 points. This marks a 2% increase on last year’s results for Brunei’s longest established IB international school; continuing to live up to the promise of building futures for university-bound global citizens. According to the newly appointed Acting Executive Principal, Mrs Laura Thomas, the tremendous performance by the year group bodes well for the school and the systems in place as it “builds on the 2017 ISB graduating class who achieved a 6% increase in grade-point average” at ISB.
The 57-student group of 2018 IB graduates are the 16th batch to have completed the IB program at ISB, and with a pass-rate of 98%, will now be heading off to Universities around the world. While none of the graduating class managed to grasp the elusive 45-point maximum score (only about 0.3% of students achieve this worldwide), 7 students managed to obtain 40 points or more, while 13 students scored 35 to 39 points. For the former, this places them alongside the brightest in the world, with only around 10% of candidates reaching this pinnacle globally. While for the latter, a 35-point score or more places them in the top 17% of candidates worldwide, making them desirable prospects for the best universities in the world. Amongst the high-flying 40-pointers in the 2018 ISB graduating class were Zoe Chin (43 points), Dawn Chai and Clea Pariseau (42 points each), and Koh Buo Yu, Eloise Pozzi, Janine Ramchandani and Tisha Wong, all reaching 40 point scores.
Delighted at the fantastic results, Mrs Thomas expressed tremendous pride in both the students and the staff saying, “Results like these speak not only to the strengths of our IB graduates and their teachers, but also to the strengths of the ISB community as a whole. It may take a village to raise a child, but it takes a whole school community to graduate an IB candidate. After 2 years of hard work, I am very happy to know that the overwhelming majority of graduates have already accepted offers to continue their next chapters at top universities in Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA.”
The students will feel confident that the last two years have left them in good stead for a successful university career, with the programme aiming to equip students with the academic and life skills needed to balance a 6-subject load including Mathematics, Science, English, a 2nd Language, a Humanities Subject, and a Creative subject, while also having to complete a 4000 word mini-thesis, a Theory of Knowledge Course, as well as CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) projects to undertake throughout the 2 years.
The IBDP (International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme) is aimed at students aged 16-19 and takes 2 years to complete. It is widely considered to be the premier pre-university course worldwide, having gained a reputation for its rigour and maintenance of high academic standards. It continues to gain popularity around the world, with a current tally of more than 1,4 million IB students attending 4,656 schools in 152 countries.
