IB no longer offered at Guernsey Sixth Form

A Levels will be the only Level 3 qualification offered at Guernsey's Sixth Form Centre from September 2026.

Education, Sport & Culture (ESC) says ending the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme at the Guernsey Sixth Form Centre will allow the school to focus its resources on A-Levels.

The IB was paused earlier this year due to low student sign-up, forcing some to reconsider their post-16 choices.

ESC says ending the six-subject course now will prevent this uncertainty for the next cohort and allow teachers to prepare.

On average, around 10% of Sixth Form students select the IB each year.

ESC President Deputy Paul Montague says the decision is about ensuring the best use of resources.

“As someone who has been involved in delivering the IB Diploma Programme for thirteen years, I would like to reassure the public that this was not a decision that the Committee made lightly.

"I personally found this a very difficult decision to make. 

"I had to put aside my own experience of the course and the fantastic staff who deliver it and focus on what is truly best for all our students. 

“The Committee spent a long time understanding the various options on the table, but the reality is that the IB Diploma Programme attracts only a very small number of students at present.

"For a programme that is nonetheless resource-intensive, this makes it increasingly difficult for us to justify.

"The investment required for IB is spread across too few students, which ultimately limits the impact staff can have on all students at the Sixth Form Centre.

"Our decision aligns with similar decisions made in Jersey and reflects the broader difficulty across the UK in sustaining the IB Diploma Programme alongside A-Levels.

“By concentrating training, staffing and development budgets on A-Levels, we can ensure that every student benefits from high-quality teaching, specialist support and enrichment opportunities."

He says students will still be offered enrichment opportunities with an AS math course and the Extended Project Qualification on offer.

Principal of The Sixth Form Centre, Kieran James, says it is a sad but sensible move.

“It is obviously disappointing to see the IB programme coming to an end.

"However, all the staff at the Sixth Form Centre will, of course, continue to provide the highest possible quality, rich and diverse educational experience for the Bailiwick’s state-educated sixth form students through an A-Level pathway.”