Most families choose the school and inherit the certificate. That is the wrong way round for a child who is not obviously suited to everything, and few children are. The International Baccalaureate, the English A-levels and the German Abitur lead to the same universities, but they get there by different roads, and a child who would sail through one can sink in another.
The IB: six subjects, three pillars, no hiding
The IB Diploma is two years of six subjects, three at Higher Level and three at Standard, plus the extended essay of 4,000 words, the theory of knowledge course and 150 hours of creativity, activity and service. A score of 45 is perfect; 38 and above opens the best universities in Europe and North America. The IB rewards children who are organised, curious across the board and able to write. It punishes children who are brilliant in one direction and indifferent in another, because a weak sixth subject drags the total down.
The IB is the natural choice for a family that moves or that has not decided where the child will study: it is understood in London, Boston, Zurich and Munich alike. Schools that do it well include Sevenoaks, Le Rosey, Aiglon and Sotogrande.
A-levels: depth, early
A-levels are three, sometimes four, subjects studied to a depth that first-year university courses elsewhere do not reach. A child who knows at fifteen that they want engineering can spend two years on maths, further maths and physics and arrive at Imperial or Cambridge ahead of the field. That is the great virtue. The great vice is that the door closes early: a fifteen-year-old who drops history cannot easily pick it up again.
A-levels suit children with a clear direction and a good memory. They are the currency of the English schools, from Eton to Tonbridge, and they are recognised in the United States and Switzerland provided the subjects match the course, which is why the subject choice at fifteen needs the Admissions Timeline in mind.
The Abitur: breadth, stamina and the German universities
The Abitur is the marathon of the three: up to ten subjects in the final two years, oral and written examinations, and a grade average calculated to a decimal point that decides entry to medicine and law in Germany. It is the only one of the three that admits directly to every German university and, with the right subjects, to ETH Zurich, and it is respected across Europe. It is less well understood by American admissions offices, which is changing slowly.
The Abitur suits children who are steady rather than spectacular, who can carry ten subjects without dropping any, and whose family sees its future in the German-speaking world. Salem and Louisenlund offer it beside the IB, which lets a family postpone the decision to fourteen.
The Swiss Matura and the American diploma
Two more roads deserve a word. The Swiss Matura, taught at Zuoz and Montana, is the Abitur's Swiss cousin and admits directly to ETH, EPFL and the cantonal universities. The American high school diploma with Advanced Placement courses, taught at Leysin and the New England academies, is the way into the American system and increasingly accepted in Britain with three or four AP scores of 5.
How to decide
- Look at the school reports at thirteen. A child with a flat profile across subjects is an IB or Abitur child. A child with two peaks and a trough is an A-level child.
- Ask where the family will be at twenty. If the answer is Germany or Switzerland, the Abitur or the Matura save an entrance examination. If it is Britain, A-levels or the IB. If it is the United States, the IB or the American diploma.
- Ask the child. Fourteen-year-olds know whether they want to write essays for two years or solve problems for two years. They are usually right.
- Keep the door open. Schools that offer two certificates under one roof cost no more and let you decide a year later.
Whatever you choose, the certificate matters less than the school's ability to teach it well. A weak IB school produces weak IB results; a strong A-level school produces engineers. Use the School Finder to filter by curriculum and compare the results the schools publish.
