IB or A-Levels? How to Choose the Right Pathway for Your Child

Two qualifications. One decision. Here's what to base it on.

Written by Mia Windsor, Managing Editor Originally published: February 2026 | 9 min read

Two Qualifications, One Question

The IB vs A-Levels debate is the most common curriculum question at international schools - and the most commonly misunderstood. Parents hear strong opinions from other parents, from school admissions teams, from university counsellors. Much of what they hear is positioning, not analysis.

Here is what the debate is about: structure. A Levels and the IB Diploma are two different ways of organising the last two years of school. They differ in how many subjects a student takes, how those subjects are assessed, and what else the programme requires beyond examined content. They do not differ in academic seriousness or in how universities regard them.

A first clarification. A Levels are not "Cambridge." Cambridge Assessment International Education is one of several exam boards - alongside Pearson Edexcel, AQA, OCR - that offer A Level qualifications. These exam boards provide syllabuses and assessments aligned to the English academic tradition. When a school says it offers A Levels, it means it delivers a qualification pathway within that tradition. For the full explanation of how Cambridge, Edexcel and the English National Curriculum relate, see Cambridge vs IB in Jakarta Schools.

The IB Diploma is different in kind. It is a self-contained programme designed by the International Baccalaureate Organisation in Geneva, with its own philosophy, structure and assessment model. It does not derive from any national curriculum.

Both lead to qualifications that every serious university in the world accepts. The question is which structure suits your child.

What A Levels Look Like in Practice

A student taking A Levels chooses three or four subjects at the start of Year 12. For the next two years, those subjects are all they study at examination level. Everything else - sport, music, drama, service, personal development - sits outside the examined programme.

The depth is significant. An A Level Further Maths student will cover pure mathematics that overlaps with first-year university content in many countries. An A Level Chemistry student goes deeper into organic synthesis, kinetics and spectroscopy than their IB Higher Level counterpart. For students targeting competitive STEM programmes at UK universities - medicine, engineering, computer science - this depth is a direct advantage.

Assessment is weighted heavily toward final exams at the end of Year 13, with some coursework or practical endorsement depending on the subject. The rhythm of A Levels is: learn, consolidate, practise, perform. Students who handle exam pressure well and revise effectively do well. Students who produce their best work in other formats - extended writing, presentations, research projects - may find A Levels frustrating.

The common criticism is narrowness. Three subjects is a narrow programme on paper. But the criticism misses something important. Good A Level schools deliver breadth through enrichment - sport, performing arts, service programmes, leadership, extended projects - rather than through extra examined subjects. The breadth is there. It is not on the exam transcript, but it is on the university application, and admissions teams know how to read it.

The A Level model rewards early clarity. A student who knows at 16 that they want to study economics at a top UK university can build a highly targeted programme: Economics, Maths, Further Maths. Every hour of study moves them toward their goal. For that student, the IB Diploma's requirement to take six subjects - including one they have no interest in - is a structural disadvantage.

What the IB Diploma Looks Like in Practice

The IB Diploma is built on a different principle: no student should be allowed to narrow too early.

Six subjects - three at Higher Level, three at Standard Level - chosen from across the arts, sciences, humanities, languages and mathematics. On top of the six subjects, three compulsory components:

The IB Diploma is graded out of 45 points: up to 7 per subject (42 maximum from subjects) plus up to 3 bonus points from the EE and TOK. A score of 38+ opens doors at the most selective universities. The world average sits around 30-31.

Assessment combines external examinations - sat at the same time worldwide - with internally assessed components moderated by the IB. The workload is more evenly distributed than A Levels but relentless. A student managing six subjects, an Extended Essay, TOK assignments and CAS documentation is juggling more simultaneous demands than an A Level student ever faces.

Assessment Culture - The Difference Parents Feel

The exit qualification gets the attention at open evenings. But the assessment model shapes your child's daily experience more than the label on the school gate.

A Levels are exam-heavy. The two years build toward high-stakes finals. Mock exams punctuate the calendar. Past papers become a way of life. The emotional arc is familiar to anyone who has sat public exams: steady preparation, mounting pressure, concentrated performance. Students who handle that arc well - who can peak when it matters - produce excellent results.

The IB Diploma spreads the load. Internal assessments in every subject. The Extended Essay. TOK essays and presentations. CAS documentation. External exams at the end of Year 13 still matter, but they are one component among many. The rhythm is: produce, submit, produce, submit. Deadlines are constant. The pressure is not a wave building to a peak - it is a current that never stops.

Neither is harder. They are hard differently. A Levels are harder to perform in if your child struggles with exam pressure. The IB Diploma is harder to manage if your child struggles with sustained organisation across multiple demands. These are different skills, and teenagers differ in which ones they have.

Parents notice this difference not in the grade at the end but in the experience along the way. The A Level student comes home stressed before mocks and then relaxes. The IB Diploma student is always slightly behind on something. Both are learning. Both are working. The texture of the stress is different.

Why "British" Means More Than Content

Parents choosing between A Levels and the IB are often, implicitly, choosing between a British-style school and something else. The distinction runs deeper than curriculum documents.

Schools in the British tradition come with an infrastructure: a clear progression model (Key Stages, GCSE, A Level) that parents and universities worldwide understand. A large global supply of teachers trained in UK pedagogy, many holding QTS or iQTS, with deep subject expertise in exam-year preparation. Established inspection frameworks (BSO, CIS, NEASC) that provide external quality signals. Professional development systems - exam board training, subject associations, leadership programmes - that keep standards visible.

IB schools draw from a more internationally diverse faculty pool. This brings broader perspective and stronger alignment to varied university destinations. It also requires stronger school leadership to standardise expectations across a more varied staff body. Both models work. The staff profile is part of what makes a school feel the way it does - and it is worth asking about during a visit.

University Recognition

Both A Levels and the IB Diploma are accepted by universities worldwide. This is not in dispute. Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Melbourne, Toronto, NUS, ETH Zurich: all accept both.

The nuance is in how they are understood:

UK universities make offers in A Level grades (AAA, AAA) or IB points (38 points with 6,6,6 at HL). Both are standard. A Level applicants speak the native currency. IB applicants are well understood but require their grades to be "translated." Neither is disadvantaged, but subject-specific requirements - Further Maths for engineering, three sciences for medicine - are easier to meet within A Levels because students take fewer, deeper subjects.

US universities value the IB Diploma's breadth. The Extended Essay, CAS and Theory of Knowledge align with the American model of well-rounded admissions. A Level applicants are not disadvantaged, but may need to demonstrate breadth separately through extracurriculars and personal writing.

Australian, Canadian and European universities accept both equally. European universities teaching in English increasingly favour the IB because it is internationally standardised and not tied to a national system.

The honest answer: unless your child is targeting a specific programme at a highly selective university with specific subject prerequisites, the qualification on the transcript will not determine the outcome. Grades, predicted grades, personal statement, references and school credibility matter more.

Who Suits A Levels

• Know roughly what they want to study at university - or at least know they are a scientist, a mathematician, an economist, a linguist
• Thrive when they can go deep into subjects they love rather than spreading across six
• Perform best in structured, exam-focused assessment
• Are targeting a UK university course that values specific subject depth (medicine, engineering, law, economics at competitive universities)
• Prefer a programme where personal development and breadth come through enrichment rather than examined requirements

A Levels do not suit students who are undecided, who are strong across many areas and resent dropping any, or who produce their best work through sustained project-based assessment rather than terminal exams.

Who Suits the IB Diploma

• Are strong across multiple subjects and do not want to drop any of them at 16
• Are good writers and independent researchers - the Extended Essay and TOK reward these skills
• Handle sustained workload and multiple deadlines well
• Are likely to apply to US, Canadian, Australian or continental European universities where breadth is valued
• Are not yet sure what they want to study - the IB keeps doors open longer

The IB Diploma does not suit students who hate writing, who find community service requirements artificial, who want to specialise early in a narrow set of subjects, or who work better toward a single high-stakes performance than across months of continuous production.

The Schools That Offer Both

Some international schools offer both pathways - A Levels and the IB Diploma - within the same institution. This is less common than you might think. The operational requirements of running two parallel senior programmes (different assessment schedules, different training requirements, different moderation processes) are expensive.

More common is the hybrid model: a school that follows the English National Curriculum through to IGCSE at 16, then offers the IB Diploma rather than A Levels for the final two years. This gives students a structured, content-rich foundation through IGCSE - including the discipline of external Cambridge or Edexcel exams - followed by the breadth and research requirements of the IB.

For a Jakarta-specific breakdown of which schools offer which pathway, see Cambridge vs IB in Jakarta Schools.