Windermere School is celebrating its twelfth year of International Baccalaureate (IB) results with a very impressive ninety-five percent pass rate.
In total, 38 students sat the IB Diploma, six of whom (16%) will take their place on the School Honours Board with a score of 40 points or more – Maria Armstrong (43), Eve Handy (43), Danielle Mather (43), Isadora Rawlinson (41) and Katriona Redhead and Nikole Gimbarova, both of whom scored 40 points. On a global scale, only 7% of students attain a score of forty or more.
A further four students achieved the equivalent of forty IB points in UCAS tariff points – congratulations to Erin Kieser, Pierce Harris, Lucy Ferguson and Isla Hamilton.
Despite the difficulties of 2020 and the challenges faced to achieve the IB in such unusual and unprecedented circumstances, the mean score for those sitting the IB Diploma currently sits at 32.7%. In 2019, the mean world average score was 29.7 points. Furthermore, almost half the students gained 34 or more points.
The Core
The Core is an additional element to the main subjects. It is made up of an extended essay of around 4,000 words; the theory of knowledge, which encourages critical thinking; and Creativity, Action, Service (CAS), which encourages students to get involved in a range of activities alongside their academic studies.
This year, 11 students achieved the maximum score of 3 points, while overall the students secured the school’s second best ever result, achieving a mean score of 1.95 (out of 3), well above the world average (1.22 in 2018).
IB Career-related programme
A further six students at Windermere followed the IB Career-related programme, while four students took individual subjects. The IB Career Related Certificate has been designed for career-orientated students, offering them the opportunity to gain a certificate which combines practical and academic skills. These results will be available on 12 August.
Ian Lavender, Headmaster at Windermere, commented: “Given the exceptional circumstances all students have experienced over the last few months, this is a superb set of results. This is our twelfth year of IB results and by far the most testing to date. Students who usually excel in exams may feel cheated, having been denied the opportunity to prove themselves, while others may feel relieved to have their hard work recognised. Either way, the students have dug deep and shown tenacity, resilience and determination in abundance, and for this they deserve praise.”
On the strength of these results, almost three-quarters of the students achieved their university offers, with two-thirds securing their first-choice university. Several others are close to their offer and we hope that they will be able to secure places in the coming days and weeks. Maria Armstrong secured her place to read Modern Foreign Languages at Cardiff University; Eve Handy and Danielle Mather secured their places at St. Andrews to read Biology and Psychology respectively; Isadora Rawlinson secured her place at University College London to read Biology; Nikole Gimbarova will attend Kings College London to study Global Health and Social Medicine; and Katriona Redhead will study English and Drama at Exeter University.
Other university destinations include New York, Edinburgh, Lancaster, Loughborough, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Birmingham.
Although the BTEC results will not be available until 12 August, if predicted grades are an indication of what the students will achieve, we anticipate that the seven BTEC students will be able to secure university places at that date.
Ian Lavender added: “My final message to the 2020 cohort is one of pride. Your achievements are living proof of everything that Windermere School teaches you, and the true embodiment of our School motto, ‘one conquers who conquers oneself’.
“This is a testament to the dedication and commitment of the staff, who have gone beyond the pale over the last few months, and I would like to thank them all for making this happen. I would also like to extend my thanks to the parents who have been so supportive.”