International Baccalaureate Organisation

(asked on 4th March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions his Department has had with the International Baccalaureate Organisation since 14 January 2021.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 12th March 2021

The Department conducted a two week consultation with Ofqual, starting on 15 January 2021, which sought the views of students, parents, schools and colleges and employers on the proposals for examinations and assessments for vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) and other general qualifications such as the International Baccalaureate, and the alternative arrangements that would be used where examinations do not take place.

As part of the consultation, the Department engaged with a number of stakeholders including awarding organisations, such as the International Baccalaureate, to discuss their views on the proposals.

On 25 February 2021, the Department announced that, to achieve fairness for students, other general qualifications that are not GCSEs, AS or A levels, such as the International Baccalaureate, should not be subject to examinations and will be awarded in a similar way to GCSE, AS and A levels. Alongside this, the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) has also confirmed to its UK schools that examinations will not take place this summer.

Ofqual are currently undertaking a consultation on the regulatory framework that will allow awarding organisations including the IBO to award VTQs and other general qualifications this year. The response to this consultation will be published as soon as possible to allow final arrangements to be communicated to students, schools, and colleges.

Reticulating Splines