Bedford offers the globally recognised and highly regarded International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma as an alternative to the A-Level Pathway.
By requiring the study of six subjects, the IB allows students to achieve depth of knowledge within their specialist areas while preserving breadth; it also recognises the importance of continuing, at some level, the study of the pupil’s mother tongue, a foreign language, mathematics and science up to the end of formal secondary education.
In addition to this, all IB students follow a course in Theory of Knowledge, write an Extended Essay on a topic that holds particular interest for them and follow a co-curricular programme of Creativity, Activity and Service. All of these additional components are hugely beneficial for our boys when applying for places at university.
“I was pleasantly surprised about how similar university-level study is to the IB. The skills I learnt from Theory of Knowledge have had a really positive influence on the way I analyse primary/secondary sources for my History modules. I have noticed that I am much more analytical and critical of the source material given to me than the other students in my tutorials.”
Bedford School has recorded outstanding results in each of the 15 years in which it has presented candidates for the IB Diploma examinations. We believe that it gives our students an edge as they seek a place on particularly competitive university courses and that it is an asset to those who recognise that their future career may include an international dimension.
The IB at Bedford School – Booklet
The subjects we offer within the Diploma programme are shown below; if you require further information, please contact the Director of IB, Mr Adrian Finch, on tel. +44 (0)1234 362200, or email him at afinch@bedfordschool.org.uk. You are more than welcome to visit us and see the Diploma Programme in action.
Group 1 – studies in language and literature (language A)
| English Literature | HL | SL |
| English Language & Literature | HL | SL |
| German (Native) | HL | SL |
GROUP 2 – LANGUAGE ACQUISITION (Second Language)
| English B | HL | SL |
| French | HL | SL |
| German | HL | SL |
| Latin | SL | |
| Mandarin (native) | SL | |
| Mandarin (ab initio) | SL | |
| Spanish (ab initio) | SL | |
| Spanish | HL | SL |
*N.B. Language options are subject to demand, and some options may not be possible depending on numbers choosing each option.
Group 3 – Individuals and Societies
| Economics | HL | SL |
| Geography | HL | SL |
| History | HL | SL |
| Philosophy | HL | SL |
Group 4 – Sciences
| Biology | HL | SL |
| Chemistry | HL | SL |
| Computer Science | HL | SL |
| Design Technology | SL | |
| Physics | HL | SL |
Group 5 – Mathematics
| Maths Analysis & Approaches | HL | SL |
| Maths Applications & Interpretations | SL |
Group 6 – The Arts / Elective
| Chemistry | HL | SL |
| Economics | HL | SL |
| Music | HL | SL |
| Visual Arts | HL | SL |
Core
| Theory of Knowledge (ToK) |
| Extended Essay |
| Creativity, Activity & Service (CAS) |
For full curriculum information on each subject, please refer to our Sixth Form Options Booklet.
Sixth Form Courses Guide for Entry in 2024
*Ab initio – means ‘from the start’; no prior knowledge of the language required
**Performance (solo or group) option
Please visit the Director of IB at the school to discuss your particular subject choices.
Whilst the school endeavours to meet the requests of all boys, this is subject to timetabling feasibility and sufficient numbers opting for subjects. We reserve the right to remove subjects subsequently from options blocks and may request boys to alter their options subsequently too.