Founded in Switzerland in 1968,the IB diploma is a globally recognised senior school credential offered as an alternative to the Higher School Certificate in about 20 NSW independent schools.
It has slowly expanded its footprint over the past 30 years,with Cranbrook becoming the latest Sydney school to offer the IB diploma from next year.
While the HSC offers a flexible curriculum where students study any combination of units,the IB locks students into six streams:they must study one subject from the sciences,humanities,arts,mathematics,English and a foreign language.
Students must also write a 4000-word essay on a topic of their choice and complete a 100-hour course in the theory of knowledge,as well as participate in co-curricular creative,physical and service activities.
"Those are some of the reasons I chose the IB,"said year 10 Cranbrook student Max Lindley,who will be in the school's first diploma cohort and hopes to write his major work on paleontology.
"Understanding how information is spread,what makes a good source – I find that very interesting."
The Oxford research used critical thinking tests to assess differences in samples of IB and non-IB students in Australia,Norway and England. They tested students’ skills in induction,deduction,evaluation,and credibility assessment of given statements.