A lot of attention is on A-level students at the moment. After lengthy protests and meetings, the UK government decided to give all A-level students their centre-assessed grades (CAGs).

However, the government seems to have forgotten about UK International Baccalaureate (IB) students living in the UK, UK IB students living abroad and IB students living abroad and hoping to go to a UK university.

While they are a minority, they too are being faced with challenges. Many students have been given lower grades than anticipated, causing universities to either reject them or leave them on hold until A-level results day.

A tough situation

I am a British citizen living abroad in Bahrain. I have just graduated from a British school that allows sixth-formers the option between A levels and the International Baccalaureate.

I chose to take the IB and was pleased to receive an offer to study law at a UK university.

Upon receiving my IB results, I discovered that the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) had lowered the grades my teachers had sent in (known as predicted grades) by six points. This caused me to narrowly miss my university offer.

I am not alone.

A global issue

This is happening to plenty of other students across the globe hoping to get into their firm UK university.   

As a lover of many subjects, the IB was an excellent course that allowed me breadth. I would hate for the IB to lose its credibility in the UK should there be fewer IB students accepted into UK universities this year.

The competition between A-level students and IB students for university places is becoming fierce, with the UK government giving A-level students a head start by introducing the “triple lock” policy a day before A-level results day.

Many UK universities had put IB students who missed their offer on hold until A-level results day.

More recently, A-level students had their grades changed to their CAGs, while IB students continue to battle a statistical model that is filled with flaws. These last-minute government policies are affecting IB students’ acceptance into university.   

As a UK student, I am disappointed that the UK government has neglected UK IB students.

Data changes offer no help

Many UK IB students, both at home and overseas, are struggling to prove to UK universities that their unexpected results simply do not reflect their abilities. The government has failed to ensure fairness between UK IB students and UK A-level students.   

Recently, IB decided to change many grades by introducing a new rule that mainly focused on the predicted grades submitted by teachers and the Internal Assessment (IA) grades.

By discarding historical data, this is a step in the right direction. However, there remain many outliers. For example, I have been awarded a 7 for my coursework in one of my subjects. My school submitted that I should be awarded a 5, yet the IB is insistent that I deserve a 4.

Similarly, teachers that have a history of marking IAs accurately have seen their marking dramatically changed this year.

There are inherent inaccuracies within the IB that need fixing. In some cases, I have been awarded 6s and 5s in subjects I have never achieved below a 7 and never thought I would achieve anything below a 7.

Does the IB not trust the judgement of its teachers? Are IB students not worthy of their predicted grades (the equivalent of CAGs)?

Unfairly disadvantaged 

Should my grades remain the same, they could affect my future career as a lawyer. Many law firms have a minimum IB requirement and do place importance on sixth-form qualifications.

Now that A-level students have been given their CAGs, I could seriously be disadvantaged when applying for training contracts and vacation schemes. Therefore, IB students must be given their predicted grades as well.  

I understand that it is difficult to award grades without examinations. Nevertheless, the government needs to strive for fairness.

We cannot accept the current situation. The past couple of months have been very difficult for everyone, but the future of young adults’ lives are in jeopardy.

We cannot bias students when they have not even sat any exams.  

Assille Mouzughi is a UK student who has just finished sixth form in Bahrain and plans to study law in the UK