Hautlieu students celebrate success

20 July 2011

The first group of Hautlieu students to study for the world renowned International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma are celebrating results that put some of them in the top 5% of IB students in the world. 25 students have taken the rigorous 2 year course, which is an alternative to A levels, and have just received their results.

The IB Diploma enables students to study 6 academic subjects; 3 at higher level and 3 at standard level, including their own language, a foreign language, maths and a science.

The core programme also has 3 extra elements:

• creativity, action and service: practical participation in a wide range of activities designed to enable personal development of the students alongside their academic study. For this group of students it has included qualifying as scuba divers, undertaking community and charity work, establishing an eco-garden, teaching French to primary school students and qualifying as sports leaders
• theory of knowledge: designed to make students reflect critically on the factors that affect learning and understanding
• extended essay: a 4,000-word piece of work to investigate a special interest topic and develop independent learning and research skills

The International Baccalaureate organisation aims to “develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect”. The qualification is recognised across the world and taken in numerous countries.

Students from the first cohort are now accepting a variety of university places or job offers. These include studying history at Cambridge University, political philosophy at Warwick University and economics at Durham University. One student is hoping to start training for a commission in the Royal Navy, another is following an acting career at the Guildford School of Drama, others are taking up positions with renowned finance and legal companies.

Staff comments

Lesley Toms, Hautlieu’s headteacher, said “Our IB Diploma students have achieved outstanding results.  They have worked so very hard to get the most out of this internationally recognised, high quality course.  Some are leaving with results which put them in the top 5% of IB students and we are delighted that our results are well above that achieved by students world wide. These are trailblazing students, our first cohort, and I am very proud that the students and staff have achieved such outstanding success this early in the course’s growth. Hautlieu now has two very distinct and successful pathways for Jersey students to consider in their journey to university entrance and employment.”

Paul Wallace-Sims, Diploma Coordinator at Hautlieu, said “We are all tremendously proud of our students’ achievements and have been truly amazed by their commitment and camaraderie. They have become inquiring, knowledgeable thinkers, principled in everything they do, with an open minded and caring attitude towards others; they have embraced the ethos of the International Baccalaureate organisation and have led by example here at Hautlieu as an inspiration to others.”

Student comments

Oliver Kennedy, who was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro when he received his results by phone, said “Studying the IB at Hautlieu has truly broadened my horizons, and the experiences I have been given will, I am sure, help to shape me as a person for years to come. I consider having undergone the IB at Hautlieu both a pleasure and a privilege and, however clichéd as it may be, I will always strive to live up to the school motto 'Summa Petamus'.”

Cat Jardim said “Before the IB, I really didn’t like school; it was more of a chore. But something about the IB made me wake up, turned a light on in my head and made me realise my true potential. This became evident on results day with me exceeding the points needed for my top choice (university) by 5 points. But it’s not all about the grades, it’s about all the memories that I know I will have forever, it’s about all the knowledge I have gained and all the experiences doing the IB allowed me to have.  When you think about it, why study anything else? I was able to study a wide range of subjects and this helped me to discover my true passion and a subject I am really good at. The wide range of subjects also helped me improve on my maths and my essay writing skills also. My confidence has soared and I now truly believe that I can do anything I put my mind to.  To sum it up: we laughed together, we cried together, but now I smile because I know I made the best decision I have ever made.”

Natalie Brammer said “These last two years have completely exceeded my expectations, and I am happy to say that I have enjoyed this venture with Jersey's first IB cohort. The qualities that make an IB student different from A-Level students become clear through the requirements of the diploma criteria: the interactive assessments, risk-taking and encouragement to look beyond ourselves. The IB has changed my perspective on life and it will continue to affect my views in the future.”

Olivia Rogers said “I can admit there is a great feeling of being on the cusp of something new and exciting. I’m hoping to pursue a law career, so I applied for a bursary from a law firm and all they wanted to talk about was the IB. I’m convinced this is partly why I got a bursary. Employers are very impressed that the IB is similar in style to the ‘old A-Levels’ when ‘everything was much harder’."