The first batch of IP was S3 2004, graduated from JC2/IB/Y6 end-2007.


Subsequently, S1 IP was introduced in 2005, along with DSA. (See, for example, http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/2004/pr20041122c.htm.)

This means that the first batch of 6-year IP students will sit for their A-levels 2010, as you have guessed.

You could check out the IB results listed here:


http://www.sevenoaksschool.org/examination-results

Enjoy.

Mathematician:

ACS(I) did very well in the IB examination, with 13 perfect scorers out of 27 perfect scorers world-wide. Also, 85.4% of the cohort taking IB in ACS(I) scored at least 38 points, making them eligible for schools like Oxford and Cambridge. Does this imply that that it will be easier to enter top universities using IB? If so, why aren't other schools offering IB?

Just some answers that will hopefully be of help...

1. The IB exams are taken in both May and November; ACS(I)'s results are relative to schools that are mostly in the Southern hemisphere.

2. Yes, they are eligible to apply, but of course not all will make it through the application process. It's not necessarily easier for IB students to make it in; after all, the Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-Level exam is not the same as other A-Levels — it's generally tougher — but Singaporeans do just fine and universities can take that into account.

3. Lots of other schools offer the IB, but MOE schools ('independent' or not) are constrained by MOE permission. Last I heard, RI(JC)'s application was rejected by MOE. I'm sure the IBO would have accepted them.

Thanks!

Sunbird24: Heh, it’s not so theoretical, because 450 is the proposed cap on the IB intake. The original cap proposed back in 2002 was supposed to be 120, 6 classes of 20 — now it is more like 16-18 classes per level, I think.

ACS(I) benchmarks against schools like this:


http://www.sevenoaksschool.org/examination-results

It makes it even more remarkable considering that ACS(I) has been running IP only since 2004 and IB first graduating batch was 2007.

Well, one thing to bear in mind is the curve. When RI and so on were in the rankings lists, the difference could be a significant one in terms of MSG and so on.


Now that the tail of the curve has been chopped off at the high end, the remaining schools are closer to the mean and thus less different. So you would expect their results every year to be closer together and the order to change more often.

A closer look at the results will show that the difference is insignificant anyway. In theory the difference could be down to a few kids who hadn't had enough coffee on the morning of an exam.

I'm new here. It's an extension of my two jobs: educational researcher and educational advisor.