Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

The department has made very significant investments into 16-19 education funding. The base rate of funding per student has increased to £5,105 in the 2025/26 academic year, up over 5% on last year. We must make this funding work hard, tilting it towards key priorities.

That is why we have announced that the additional funding previously available for a range of larger 16 to 19 programmes will be focused in future on supporting larger than normal mathematics and high value A level programmes to support the pipeline of students for priority sectors. It remains a choice for institutions as to whether they offer this provision. International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma achievement is included in the 16 to 19 performance tables. There are also newly approved IB Alternative Academic Qualifications that can form part of a diploma, available for delivery from August 2025.