Private schools ponder the A to IEB of education alternatives

TALI FEINBERG

These are the questions being considered by schools and parents around the country. At the end of 2018, United Herzlia Schools (UHS) confirmed it was introducing the Cambridge A-levels curriculum as an additional matric option for its scholars.

The International Cambridge Global Perspectives and Research syllabus will be launched this year in Herzlia’s middle and high schools. “This innovative curriculum is centred on developing 21st century skills and competencies of research, reasoning and communication,” says Herzlia Education Director Geoff Cohen.

“With a view to offering a Cambridge matric qualification as an alternative to the National Senior Certificate (NSC), A-levels will be offered in the high school from 2020 to those who wish to pursue an international curriculum. This will position Herzlia uniquely by offering three different matriculation streams – vocational, National Senior Certificate, and A-Levels.”

At an information evening for parents late last year, Cohen and Herzlia High Principal Marc Falconer explained that the introduction of A-levels came about after Herzlia had thoroughly investigated switching from the NSC to the IEB curriculum followed at most private schools outside of the Western Cape.

However, the UHS found that the NSC as administered in the Western Cape was of a high educational standard, which made it not worth changing at this stage.

In addition, it is the curriculum offered by most independent high schools in that province, so to do the IEB would be to ‘go it alone’ without the support of other schools. Meanwhile, adding A-levels would link UHS up with other schools doing the Cambridge curriculum. Its leadership realised that if any change was to be made, the addition of the Cambridge international qualification would be the most valuable option for all involved.

They also realised that the Applied (AP) English and Applied (AP) Maths offered at the school was at the same academic level as A-levels, but that the students doing those additional subjects were not getting additional point scores towards university. “This is because IEB offers AP Maths and English, so this cannot count for points for an NSC school. If Herzlia were an IEB school, then these subjects would count,” says Falconer.

Therefore, the UHS decided that if learners were going to take ‘stretching subjects’ like these, it might as well be an international curriculum.

Cohen emphasises that doing A-levels is not a one-way ticket to international universities. “It does not mean [students] will get into international or local universities with any greater ease, but the rigorous academic training will make them better prepared for university,” he says.

Locally, South African universities have a vested interest in the NSC, the Cambridge curriculum is not well-known, and A-levels are less broad than is the case internationally, which some universities may see as a disadvantage.

Internationally, Herzlia students who apply to universities will still have to do psychometric tests and compete against the 35 million other students around the world who do A-levels every year. In addition, hundreds of South Africans have entered international universities on the NSC and IEB.

Cohen also emphasises that A-levels are not for everyone. “It is extremely rigorous, on the level of first-year varsity. It allows learners to delve deeper into three chosen electives, which means they have to be extremely committed.”

Furthermore, students have to decide which track they will follow at the end of Grade 10, and it is extremely difficult to join the A-levels curriculum late or drop out of it. “It would be very hard to swap,” he says. The school will offer in-depth counselling and assessments for each child to help them and their parents to make this decision.

Those doing A-levels will be able to choose three of the following subjects as their electives: economics, history, maths, chemistry, physics, literature and language, and possibly art.

To do this, the students will “write off” their first additional home language and maths papers in Grade 11, so that they have more time and space to do their electives.

In addition, all Herzlia students will do the Cambridge Global Perspectives curriculum from Grade 10 onwards, which will train them in the Cambridge methodology should they choose to do A-levels. Herzlia will be training its teachers in this course, and in teaching A-levels.

Practically, students doing A-levels will join their peers doing the NSC in class, but they will do a double period of their chosen subject. The school will ensure that there is no sense of elitism in the classroom. For those parents whose children are doing A-levels, there will be no real change in school fees besides the cost of the actual exams, which comes to about 90 pounds (R1 586) in total.

Cohen and Falconer say that they have had excellent support and experienced fantastic generosity from other Western Cape schools doing the Cambridge curriculum, and that online resources for teachers and learners are exceptional.

“We are excited about the academic and deep learning potential of the Cambridge curriculum, not just for the pupils who are doing the course, but for all the staff involved, and the ongoing development of their departments and ultimately for the school,” says Falconer.

“The King David Schools are not considering A-levels currently,” says Rabbi Craig Kacev, Director of the South African Board of Jewish Education. “The schools write an IEB matric together with applied courses in Maths and English. This matric has been shown to be of a high standard, with students gaining access to all local universities as well as many international universities – and most certainly all Israeli universities.

“For students to excel in the IEB matric and contribute to the many other areas of school life – to gain a holistic education – it takes a tremendous amount of time and dedication. To add further examinations and curricula would add unnecessary further pressure,” he says.

“The IEB is the best exam to write,” says Dr Eirwen Oswald, an experienced educator and the principal of a Johannesburg school.

“Although the curriculum is the same as that of government schools, the assessment is very different, and it is this that makes for a superior exam. Content is not the focus in an IEB paper, so children who learn parrot-fashion style will not excel in this exam. The IEB papers are designed to test understanding and skills rather than just pure content. Therefore ‘own voice’ becomes a focus, and the candidates are exhibiting skills like succinct argumentation, the application of knowledge, and understanding of the curriculum. These skills are vital for success in the workplace and at university. Statistics show that many of the candidates who do very well in government state exams often fail first-year university because they do not have the skills to cope.

She says the IEB is accepted in many countries overseas. “I taught at an international school for many years, and a large number of our students were accepted and were successful at international universities.”

Meanwhile, some other schools have taken yet another route. Redhill School in Johannesburg is now an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, offering the IB Diploma Programme, or the IEB.

“Students thus have the opportunity to choose either a local or international qualification. Both are recognised by South African and international tertiary institutions,” says Joseph Gerassi, the Executive Head of Redhill School.

“The Diploma Programme offers a holistic, well-balanced curriculum that includes a compulsory core programme comprising of theory of knowledge, an extended essay, and an evaluation of a student’s CAS (creativity, action, and service). Students in the IB are expected to complete this core successfully as well as a balanced, rigorous academic programme consisting of six subjects from different subject areas. This ensures that students are prepared fully for the transition into tertiary institutions.”