Reflections on the 2025 - 2026 academic year

As we approach the end of the academic year, the opportunity presents itself to reflect on the past year.  It has certainly been busy! A myriad of IB Workshops, a successful seminar series, vibrant face-to-face CP/DP and MYP conferences and some inspiring subject community sessions. There has also been the small matter of negotiations with the government and the DfE over funding for the DP in state schools. Although we were not successful in persuading the Minister to reverse her decision over Large programme uplift funding, I remain optimistic that the work we have done to date on building relationships, raising the profile of the IB in UK schools and the arguments for improved parity of recognition for DP with A level will ultimately prove too compelling for the DfE and government not to make adjustments. We are currently working on achieving High Value Course Premium (HVCP) recognition for IB subjects, and I will update you on progress towards this goal over the coming months. 

We have also undertaken the Prior Attainment in English project, and I am hoping to meet with Matt Glanville in the next month to discuss the findings. The headlines are that results in English HL and SL did improve marginally from 2024 to 2025, but work remains to be done at the higher IB attainment scores to ensure parity in attainment with A level. I will report back on how the discussions with the IB progress, and I would very much like to repeat the research next year based on the 2026 results. To that end, we will be in touch following results day to begin the process of gathering the prior attainment for IB students. 

To be able to focus on the LPU campaign and everything else the Association has done this year has required a huge amount of support and commitment from a number of people, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the IBSCA Directors, the Steering Committee and Lara and Bryony for their unstinting efforts. A lot of the work they have done has been in the background, and I would like to acknowledge just how important this has been and how vital it has been to the ongoing work of the Association. I would also like to publicly acknowledge the work that Leanne Gibbons has done this year as School Support Officer. Leanne has expended a huge amount of effort on behalf of the Association's members this year, and I am delighted that she has agreed to extend her secondment into next year.

So, as the year draws to the close, I want to wish everyone in the IBSCA community well for the coming months, and I look forward to the new academic year in September. 

Richard Markham

Chief Executive Officer

IBSCA