A posting abroad, and the question arises: French lycée or international school? When there is no French school locally, or it is full, the student often moves to the IB. Families worry about the level. Usually wrongly: a good student from the French system adapts well. What needs attention are the choices the IB imposes very early, which decide what studies are possible afterwards.
How the IB curriculum is different for a French student
The IB teaches differently. Lessons give more room to projects, research, speaking and group work; assessment mixes final exams with coursework marked during the year. A French student, used to timed written tests and rigorous written reasoning, often has an advantage in maths and science. On the other hand, they discover argumentative writing in English, managing long independent projects, and greater autonomy in organising their work.
Language is the first hurdle. A student who arrives in the MYP or the Diploma Programme without solid English will need to work on it intensively, since most subjects are taught and assessed in English.
The Diploma Programme: six subjects, and choices that commit
The final two years, the Diploma Programme, rest on six subjects, three or four at higher level and the rest at standard level, plus a core: Theory of Knowledge, an extended research essay and a programme of activities. Each subject is graded out of 7, the core adds up to 3 points: the maximum is 45, and at least 24 points are needed for the diploma.
The decisive point is the choice of higher-level subjects, maths in particular. The IB offers two maths courses, Analysis and Approaches and Applications and Interpretation, each at standard or higher level. Selective universities do not treat them the same way. Cambridge requires Analysis and Approaches at higher level for mathematics. ETH Zurich asks, for admission without an exam, for higher-level maths, a higher-level science and 38 points out of 42 excluding core points.
The reflex to have. Before choosing Diploma Programme subjects, check the requirements of the target universities, course by course. Choosing standard-level maths out of caution at 16 can close a science or economics route two years later.
Keeping a door open to France
A student who may return to France for university should keep two things: solid written French, and higher-level maths if aiming for a science track or a prépa. French programmes accept the IB, but the prépa remains a less natural route for an IB student, as I explain in IB or French baccalaureate. If the return happens before the end of secondary school, the reverse move needs its own preparation: see Moving from the IB to the French system.
At Carmine, we help families choose the school abroad and, when the Diploma Programme starts, the subjects that keep the target studies open. For maths, I follow IB students in online private lessons, in English or French.