Exam Successes to Shout about, 2012

LIST students have once again performed extremely well in the CIE (Cambridge International Examinations) annual external standardised examinations. These external examinations are set and graded by CIE examiners each year and allow us to see how well our students are progressing as they move through the school; from 5 years old right through to graduation, against real worldwide standards.

At LIST we use CIE's framework to get continual feedback on how our students are progressing, especially in the key areas of Maths, Science and English. Details of all of our programmes, and explanations of why external benchmarks are so important please take a look at http://www.cie.org.uk/qualifications/academic/primary and browse through the various programmes for each age group.

The CIE externally assessed programmes that we follow are:

- Cambridge Advanced; AS and A Levels (16-19 yrs)

Cambridge International A Level is the world's most popular international examination for 16-19 year olds. As one of the most recognised qualifications around the world, it is accepted as proof of academic ability for entry to universities worldwide. Cambridge International A Levels take two years to complete and offer a flexible course of study that gives students the freedom to select subjects that are right for them.

This year's A Level examinations have exceeded our expectations with an incredible 94.5% pass rate. This compares very favourably with last year's pass rate of 87.5%, which itself was our previous highest pass rate. Congratulations to all of the students and staff who worked so hard to together achieve these impressive results in what are some extremely challenging courses.

When considering our examination results be aware that at LIST we do not “massage” our figures by not entering students who may possibly not achieve a good pass grade. Where students have some chance of success and they want to enter we always give our students this opportunity - this is not true of all schools, whether IGCSE/AS/A Level or IB (International Baccalaureate) based...


- Cambridge Secondary 2; IGCSEs (14-16 yrs)

The IGCSE curriculum is academically rigorous and is designed to encourage high academic standards through a practical approach to teaching and learning. LIST's students sit IGCSE examinations at the end of Year 11.

This year of the 160 IGCSE examinations taken by our students, an impressive 84% were passed at grades C and above. Last years pass rate of 75% was previously the highest pass rate achieved by our students, so it is great to see that once again our students achieved a new highest ever pass rate. Well done all of you; and your hard-working teachers!

Of our 24 students sitting their IGCSE exams this year 7 achieved the impressive feat of passing 5 or more at A grade (plus other passes at B and C grades). Our top scoring student this year passed 8 IGCSE exams - 7 at A grade and one at B. Well done!


- Cambridge Primary (5-11 years)

Cambridge Primary, introduced at LIST in 2009, offers an integrated curriculum for Maths, English and Science through the Primary years, with integrated standardised assessments at strategic points along the way.

At the end of Year 6, when students are completing their Primary education all students sit the end of stage Cambridge Primary standardised assessments. These Maths, English and Science examinations give us a real picture of how well our students are doing compared to other students in CIE registered schools throughout the world. Cambridge Primary scores are on a scale of zero (lowest) to 6 (highest), with an “average” student scoring somewhere in the 3 to 4 range.

Our students' very pleasing Cambridge Primary scores for this year show a significant improvement over last year, particularly in Science. In Maths our students scored an average of 4.5; in Science 4.7; and in English 4.4.

Last year's scores were Maths 3.9; Science 4.1; and English 3.3, so we improved in all areas! This is, again, real recognition in international standardised assessments that what we are doing here at LIST is working, and benefiting our students – right from an early age.
 

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Many international schools choose not to be involved in any form of external standardised testing; instead only assessing in school against their own standards. We at LIST believe external benchmarks are helping us to raise educational standards for all, and are therefore a vital part of the educational experience that we offer. Our students are now consistently achieving better results year-on-year, right throughout the school.

LIST is a great place to go to school (according to our students!) and a place where high standards matter to us all. External standardised assessments are an important tool driving positive changes at our school – they matter!