IGCSE Examination Results May 2021

The IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) examinations for the tenth graders are held in two sessions every year: October/November and May/June. Last academic year, in spite of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19, all students at Saint Maur were able to complete all their IGCSE examinations. The results of which were released on 12th August 2021.

The Saint Maur students achieved a large number of A* and A grades, accounting for well over half of  all the grades (62.6% to be exact).  Moreover, 88.9% of the grades were at least a C or above (C grades and above are generally recognized as "good" passing grades).

The formal certificates will be presented later this year. We ask that students look after those certificates carefully, because an increasing number of universities (including those in the USA) are requiring the certificates to be submitted as part of the application process. 

Congratulations to all last year's sophomores, who have now embarked on their IB courses in Grade 11 on a solid foundation and with the knowledge of how to succeed in examinations that are administered and marked by an external authority.

IB Results of the Class of 2021

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB DP) examinations are held every May over a three week period. Following the cancellation of the May 2020 examinations, in line with other assessment programs, and in consultation with universities and governments, the IB restarted examinations for May 2021. To continue accommodating for the global disruption to student learning, some papers were eliminated, and grading was adjusted. Schools had two possible pathways in May 2021: written examinations, where they could be administered safely, and where they could not, a non-exam route using a combination of internal assessment coursework and teacher-predicted grades (similar to that used in May 2020). Out of the 170,660 students who received IB DP results worldwide in May 2021, 104,275 were in the non-exam route and 65,576 in the exam route (with 809 split between both routes). The IB used statistics to ensure that results were fairly allocated between both of these routes, and that the overall results accurately reflected students’ achievements and abilities. Saint Maur students all took the exam route.

For context, in order to receive the full IB Diploma, standard general requirements include that candidates earn at least 24 points across six subjects; complete the Creativity-Activity-Service (CAS) requirement over two years; complete the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course; and complete an Extended Essay (EE), which is an independently written 4000-word academic research paper. The maximum point total is 45 (with up to 42 points available from the six subjects, and up to three additional points available for work submitted for TOK and the EE).

In May 2021, 29 students in Grade 12 at Saint Maur sat the IB examinations, 19 of whom were full IB Diploma candidates. All 19 of these students successfully completed the requirements to earn the IB Diploma, with an average score of 35 points out of 45.  The average subject grade obtained by these students was 5.68, and our overall student average grades exceeded the world-wide average in 18 of the courses we offer.

Particular congratulations are due to the thirteen full IB Diploma candidates who earned 35 or more points. There was one student who scored 41 points, only four points away from a perfect score (achieved by approximately 0.7% of candidates around the world in May 2021).

The Bilingual Diploma recognizes those IB Diploma candidates who studied two Group 1 language courses (for example, English A and Japanese A language and Literature). Congratulations to the six students who achieved a Bilingual Diploma this year.

This year, the ten IB Course Candidates achieved an average subject grade of 4.70 across their subjects - well done to each of them. 

And finally, thank you to all for the collaborative efforts which allowed our recently graduated resilient seniors the opportunity to move forward with their post-secondary aspirations in spite of the various disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  We wish them the best in their future educational endeavors around the world.