UK: IB Diploma Results 2023
Results for the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) and Career-related Programme (IBCP) are out – and over 4,800 students at state and independent schools in the UK are celebrating an average score of 34.67, well above the global average for the May 2023 session of 30.24.
At a Glance: 2023 Results
- The UK's average IBDP score is 34.67, which surpasses the global average; it is lower than last year’s average was 36.35 points.
- The global average score is 30.24 (lower than last year's figure of 31.98).
- 25 out of the 4,850 students in the UK achieved the top score of 45 .There were 179 top scoring students worldwide.
- In the UK, 774 students achieved 40-plus points, down from 1,252 last year.
- The UK's IBDP average grade is 5.51 (last year’s was 5.75); the global average grade is 4.84. Students receive grades ranging from 7 to 1, with 7 being the highest for each subject.
- Both the UK and the global average pass rates have dropped. The UK's pass rate is 94.74% (last year it was 97.5%); the global pass rate is 79.35% (85.6% in May 2022).
- The number of students taking the IBDP in the UK was 4,850, less than the 5,250 last year.
- A total of 179,917 students took the IBDP and IBCP examinations worldwide, compared with 173,878 IBDP students in 2022.
The minimum point requirement for the award of the Diploma is 23 points with the highest award being 45 points.
The two-year IBDP programme is currently offered at 108 state and independent schools in the UK; the IBCP is offered at 44 schools in the country.
How to uncover a school's true IB results. Click here to read more...
What do this year's results mean?
Both the UK and global average pass rates are lower than last year's but, after the discussion around the grade inflation of the Covid-19 years, this was to be expected.
This years's grade awarding system returns to the IBO's pre-pandemic one. After the IB introduced “appropriate grade boundaries” in 2021 and 2022 due to the disruption caused by Covid-19, it decided that "the distribution of grades awarded for our qualifications returned close to those of May 2019."
Both 2020 and 2021 saw a rise in pass rates, average scores, diploma scores and the number of students achieving the top score. Last year's results, which were only marginally lower than 2020-21, marked a milestone in terms of 'a return to normality'.
To ensure that last year’s grades were fair and continued to take into account the disruption caused by Covid-19, the IBO said that “appropriate grade boundaries will be set for each route, building in generosity that reflects the disruption experienced in teaching and learning around the world”.
Commenting on the grading for this year's exams, the IBO states:
"In line with other national and international awarding organisations, the profile of grade distribution returned close to pre-pandemic standards. This return to established distributions of awarded grades is aligned with university expectations and has been a phased process: results for the May 2022 and November 2022 examination sessions were closer to the results of 2019 than those of 2021".
The global average IBDP score for the May 2023 session is 30.24 points.
This compares with an average of 31.98 in 2022 when students returned to exams following the Covid 19 pandemic, against 32.98 in 2021, when students received Teacher Assessed Grades.
The global average in the last full set of examinations taken by students in 2019 was 29.62, which was actually a lower average than those of 2018 of 29.76. While the 2023 global average is lower than last year, it, still remains 0.60 points above the 2019 average of 29.62.
The discussion about results should not detract from the incredible efforts of students to learn and teachers to teach. Students have worked hard during an extremely difficult time in their secondary education – and today is a day to celebrate their achievements.
UK 2023 IB Results Table
|
School |
Average score 2023 |
Average score 2022
|
Average score 2021 |
Average score 2020 |
Average score 2019
|
| Global average score | 30.24 | 31.98 | 32.98 | 31.34 | 29.65 |
| UK average score | 34.67 | 36.35 | 37.74 | 34.87 | 34.47 |
| The Abbey School Reading | 38 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 29.65 |
| ACS Cobham International School | 35 | 36 | 37 | 35 | 31.9 |
| ACS Egham International School | 35 | 36 | 37 | 36 | 34.1 |
| ACS Hillingdon International School | 34 | 36 | 37 | 36 | 32 |
| Anglo European School | 32 | 34 | 36 | 35 | |
| Ardingly College | 40.1 | np | 39.5 | 36 | |
| Ashcroft Technology Academy | 40 | np | 37.1 | ||
| Bedford Girls' School | 38 | 40 | 39.6 | np | 34.3 |
| Bexley Grammar School | 34 | 34 | 36 | 33 | |
| Box Hill School | 32 | np | 33 | 31 | |
| Bradfield College | 35.8 | 38 | 37.7 | 36 | |
| Brentwood School | 40 | 40 | 37.1 | 35.1 | |
| Bridgwater and Taunton College | 35.5 | 36.4 | |||
| Bristol Grammar School | 37 | 37 | 40 | 34 | |
| Broadgreen International School | np | 33 | |||
| Bromsgrove School | 39.3 | 40.1 | 39.3 | 37.5 | |
| Bryanston School | 37 | 38 | 33 | 32.2 | |
| Buckswood School | 32 | 33 | |||
| CATS Canterbury | np | np | |||
| Charterhouse | 34 | 36 | 38 | np | 33.6 |
| Cheltenham Ladies' College | 38.7 | 41.7 | 42.7 | 38.7 | 40.4 |
| Chester International School | 33 | np | |||
| Christ's Hospital | 37.8 | 40.3 | 35.9 | 34.1 | |
| Dallam School | 36 | np | |||
| Dane Court Grammar School | 36 | 35 | np | 35 | |
| Dartford Grammar School | 35.2 | 37.7 | 38.8 | 38.7 | |
| Dwight School London | 35 | 37 | 37.8 | 35 | 33.1 |
| Ellesmere College | 36 | np | |||
| Europa School UK | 34.6 | First IB results 2022 | First IB results 2022 | ||
| Exeter College | np | 36.8 | |||
| Felsted School | 36.2 | 36 | 37 | 34 | 33.8 |
| Fettes College | 37 | 37.3 | 39.4 | 37 | 37 |
| Godolphin & Latymer School | 40.7 | 43 | 43 | 41.3 | 41.3 |
| Gresham's School | 35.7 | 35.4 | np | 35.6 | |
| Haileybury | 39 | 38 | 39 | 38 | 36.2 |
| Halcyon London International School | 35.2 | 35 | 31.4 | ||
| Headington School Oxford | np | 39.5 | 37.4 | ||
| Hockerill Anglo-European College | 33 | 36.4 | np | 36.5 | |
| ICS London | 32 | 32 | 36 | 34.4 | |
| Impington Village College | 33 | 36 | 36 | np | |
| International School of London (ISL) | 36.6 | 35.2 | 32 | ||
| Kent College Canterbury | 35.5 | np | 37 | ||
| King Edward's School - Birmingham | 35.6 | 39.6 | 40.3 | 39.1 | 37.9 |
| King Edward's School - Witley | 32.3 | 35.9 | 33.9 | 34.7 | |
| King William's College | 32 | 33 | 34.1 | 32.8 | 32.7 |
| King's College School - Wimbledon | 41 | 42.1 | 42.8 | 41.7 | 40.7 |
| Leighton Park School | 31.5 | 33.3 | 35.5 | 35 | |
| Lomond School | 34 | First IB results 2023 | First IB results 2023 | ||
| Malvern College | np | 36 | |||
| Marymount International School | 38 | 38 | |||
| North London Collegiate School | 41.3 | 40.4 | 43 | 41.3 | |
| Oakham School | 35.5 | 37 | 36.7 | 35.4 | |
| Parkside Community College | 34 | np | NP | ||
| Royal High School, Bath | 35 | 37 | 40 | 37 | |
| Rugby School | 38 | First IB results 2023 | First IB results 2023 | ||
| Sevenoaks School | 38.7 | 40.3 | 41.3 | 40.1 | 39.4 |
| Scarborough College | 32.5 | 35.3 | 33.7 | ||
| Sidcot School | 32.4 | 37.5 | 33.7 | ||
| Southbank International School - Westminster | 37.6 | 36.6 | 36.2 | ||
| St Benedict's Catholic High School | np | np | |||
| St Clare's | 36.3 | 39 | 37 | 36.5 | |
| St Edward's School Oxford | 35 | 35.8 | 33 | 33.6 | |
| St Leonards School | 34.6 | 34 | 34.4 | 33 | |
| Stephen Perse Sixth Form | 39.5 | 40.9 | np | ||
| Stonyhurst College | 33.4 | 34.4 | 37.8 | 36 | 35.6 |
| TASIS - The American School in England | 34 | 35 | 36 | 35 | 33 |
| Taunton School | 31.9 | 34 | np | 36 | 32.3 |
| TBAP 16-19 Academic AP Academy | np | np | |||
| The Chalfonts Independent Grammar School | np | np | |||
| The Rochester Grammar School | 34 | 35 | np | np | |
| The Sixth Form College, Colchester | 34 | 33 | |||
| Tonbridge Grammar School | 36.4 | 37.9 | np | 36.5 | |
| Torquay Boys' Grammar School | 38.5 | np | 36 | ||
| Truro and Penwith College | np | 36 | |||
| UWC Atlantic College | np | np | |||
| Varndean College | 35.8 | 36.6 | np | ||
| Warminster School | 30.2 | 33 | 35 | 30.3 | |
| Wellington College | 38.1 | 41.3 | 41 | 40 | 40.2 |
| Westbourne School | 39 | np | |||
| Westminster Academy | 33.5 | 36 | np | 36.25 | |
| Whitgift School | 38.6 | 40.2 | 35.8 | 40 | 38.6 |
| Windermere School | 33 | 36.3 | 32.7 | 33.9 | |
| Worth School | 37 | 36.04 | np | 34.5 |
np = not published
Global Average Figures
Historical global average figures for IBDP results are documented in the table below.
| IBDP global average points | Global pass rate % | No of students globally | No. of UK students | UK average score | |
| 2023 | 30.24 | 79.35 | 179,917 | 4,850 | 34.67 |
| 2022 | 31.98 | 85.6 | 173,878 | 5,250 | 36.35 |
| 2021 | 32.98 | 88.95 | 165,884 | 4,220 | 37.74 |
| 2020 | 31.34 | 85.18 | 170,335 | 4,503 | 34.87 |
| 2019 | 29.65 | 77.81 | 166,465 | 4,589 | 34.47 |
| 2018 | 29.76 | 78.18 | 163,173 | 4,625 | 34.39 |
| 2017 | 29.87 | 78.4 | 157,488 | 4,808 | not available |
| 2016 | 29.95 | 79.3 | 149,446 | 4,769 | not available |
