Dubai: A number of UAE schools celebrated their best-ever results for the school-leaving International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) over the weekend.
The IB DP is one of the highest-regarded school qualifications accepted by leading universities worldwide — 42 schools in the UAE offer the programme.
Results for the exams were announced on Friday and Saturday by UAE schools. Around 2,000 students in the UAE joined over 169,000 DP and Career-related Programme (CP) candidates worldwide in receiving their results.
This year’s cohort achieved record results — in both the pass rate and average points — for seven GEMS Education schools in the UAE.
The GEMS-wide pass rate for the 501 students was 94 per cent. Two students achieved a perfect score of 45 points — the highest score possible — placing themselves in the top one per cent globally.
Adiba Ejaz, a Year 13 student of GEMS Modern Academy in Dubai who scored 45, told Gulf News studying regularly was the key to success.
“It’s important to be consistent through the year, it’s not something you can get done a month before the exams,” said Ejaz, 17, who is from India.
She will be starting her major in maths at Columbia University in New York City for the Fall semester.
Ejaz also advised against panicking for exams. “A lot of students study hard and are intelligent, but in that exam pressure they lose it. You have to focus on staying calm; don’t stress out.”
‘Have a life’
Anuja Venkataramani, a Year 13 student of GEMS Wellington International School in Dubai who also scored 45, said she “wasn’t thinking of any score; I just did my best”.
Anuja, 19, added that choosing subjects she liked — such as higher-level English and History — made her give her best for the exams.
“I knew I would put in the work — and not burn out — because I really liked most of the subjects. What I would say to others is, take time out from studies; basically, have a life.”
Anuja, from India, plans to study law at Durham University in the UK in September.
Students at Greenfield Community School (GCS) in Dubai gained the highest scores in the school’s history in the DP and CP results, principal Allan Weston said.
In the DP, 93 per cent of students achieved the full Diploma, beating the school’s previous record by over 10 per cent. With an average point score of 32 points, the students also set new records. For the CP, 100 per cent of the students passed, matching previous bests.
GCS student Pavetra Logamoorthy scored one the highest scores at the school with 39 points. Logamoorthy, a grade 12 student from Malaysia, said: “Time management and consistency in studies — doing a bit of every subject daily — was the key to getting where I am today.”
She is going to study fashion marketing at University of Arts London this Fall.
100% pass-rate
At Repton School Dubai, 90 per cent of students scored above 30 points; the 2019 global average is 29.58.
“We are extremely proud to announce that 100 per cent of our 61 IB students passed their IB examinations. Students who took the IBDP examinations scored an average of 34 points,” said David Cook, Headmaster, Repton School Dubai.
Repton student Aisha Mir achieved 43 points and will attend St Andrews University to study Medicine. Her schoolmate Hannah Fazal also achieved 43 points and will attend University College London to study Politics and Spanish.
In Abu Dhabi, Aldar Academies’ Al Bateen Academy reported an average point score of 32.4 and a 92 per cent pass rate.
Filipino student Keith Gironella recorded the school’s highest point score of 41, followed closely by Italy’s Antonio De Leo with 40 points. Hamad Al Qubaisi and Alya Al Breiki topped the school’s Emirati cohort, celebrating scores of 37 and 36, respectively.
Al Qubaisi said: “I feel so, so happy. Now I’m going on to study Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at Claremont McKenna in California. I must thank all my teachers at Al Bateen Academy who have been so supportive throughout my time here.”
Alya said: “I am speechless! I predicted 32 and achieved 36 points, thanks to a lot of hard work and the guidance of my teachers at Al Bateen Academy. I can’t wait for my next chapter and to start studying Media and Communications at the University of Surrey in the UK.”
International Baccalaureate (IB) at a glance
Founded in 1968, IB is a non-profit organisation registered in Switzerland
It offers four programmes for students aged three to 19. The programmes can be offered individually or as a continuum.
There are currently around 6,659 programmes being offered worldwide, across 5,088 schools in 156 countries.
It’s one of the fastest growing programmes worldwide — between 2012 and 2017, the number of IB programmes offered globally increased by 39.3 per cent.
In the UAE, 42 schools offer the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP)
The highest possible score in IBDP is 45 points — around one per cent of students achieve the perfect score
The 2019 global average point score is 29.58
IBDP scores are accepted by leading universities worldwide
Over 169,000 IBDP and Career-related Programme (CP) candidates worldwide received their results for the May 2019 exam session
