IB students are world class

Students at The Abbey School sat the IB exams for the third year in a row this summer, and envelopes were ripped open on Friday last week to reveal soaring results.

Top-performing student Elinor Lobley secured 43 points out of a possible 45, one of the best results worldwide. She will read English at UCL in September. Flora Harris scored 40 points and secured a place at New College, Oxford, to study experimental psychology, while Hannah Ridzuan-Allen's 42 points clinched her a prestigious Dickson Poon law scholarship at King's College, London.

The international qualification was sat by more than 80,000 students this year and involves exams in six subjects, including a language, science, maths and English.

The school's average point score was 38, well above the international average of 29, and headteacher Barbara Stanley said: "I'm delighted to congratulate the girls on the hard work which has led to their superb results.

"The Abbey continues to flourish as an IB World School, offering the IB diploma alongside A-Levels to ensure that girls have the opportunity to choose a qualification that suits their learning style and gives them the widest range of options for the next stages of their education.

"Our experience has shown that study and life skills learned as part of the IB diploma have proved invaluable as girls have continued into higher education."

Meanwhile, students at Leighton Park School, in Shinfield Road, are also celebrating success after students scored top results for the second year running.

Head girl Alex Cheng secured her place at Balliol College, Oxford, to study biomedical sciences with a top score of 43, boosting her into the top 1.5% of students worldwide.

The school's overall average was 36 and headteacher Alex McGrath said: "We are naturally delighted with these exceptional results as the IB grows in popularity at the school. "These results are testament to the hard work and enthusiasm of all the staff and students involved."