Dear Members of the ISA Community,

I would like to take a moment to share some exciting news with you regarding our Class of 2020 and the recent release of the final IB Examination results, which we received this week. 

Class of 2020

Before I begin to tell you about just how wonderful our students performed on the global IB scale, I would like to take just a moment to express how, more importantly, they performed as individuals who were met with unprecedented challenges in one of the world’s most uncertain times. 

Despite having to switch to remote learning in the last months of a rigorous two-year diploma programme, discovering that prom and exams were cancelled and that graduation would mean an online ceremony and receiving diplomas in four separate socially-distanced ceremonies (without the full class or their families), this group of 95 students prevailed and emerged more resilient, positive, and adaptable than ever before. On behalf of our full community, I want to congratulate each graduate and to say that we are not only proud of what you have accomplished but also who you have become – caring, reflective, and knowledgeable life-long learners and thinkers who embody our mission to educate for international understanding. I know you will continue to make us proud. 

IB Results for 2020

While the culmination of their two-long-years of hard work did not end in the way that anyone could have planned for (this was in fact the first time in IB history that exams were ever cancelled!), our students performed exceptionally well, with ISA once again performing well above the world average for IB results. ‘Academics’ are a very important part of our responsibilities at ISA, and we take very seriously one of our core beliefs ‘developing minds’. In celebrating results and sharing statistics, we’re well aware that they do not reflect the way in which we rejoice in having had a hand in ‘developing character’ and ‘developing community’ with and for the Class of 2020.

This year due to the cancellation of IB exams, the International Baccalaureate Organisation used an algorithmic process and historical data to determine final IB scores.  We received the initial scores in July, but after careful review, the decision was made to go back to the IB to appeal for a review of some scores. We received the final review score this week which is why we are announcing our results now. 

I am proud to announce that for only the 8th time in our school’s history, an ISA student has received a perfect score of 45 (one of 141 candidates around the world to have achieved this score out of the total 170,343 global diploma candidates). A huge congratulations to Lukas Joosten for this well-deserved and well-earned achievement! 

The details below highlight the collective successes of the class:

• 99% of our IB Diploma candidates achieved the full diploma with a total average score of 35 points compared to a global average score of 29.92. 
• Two-thirds (59%) of our ISA candidates obtained 35 points or more, while 20% received 40 points or more.
• Over a third of our candidates (35%) received a bi-lingual diploma.
• 94% of our ISA candidates earned extra points on their Theory of Knowledge/Extended Essay.
• Out of the 49 subjects our students studied and the 716 exam entries, ISA had 39 subjects achieving above the World Average, with 11 of these students exceeding the average by more than 1 point.

I want to thank our students for all their hard work, our faculty and staff for their dedication and sharing of their knowledge and expertise and finally to all the parents of our graduates, for guiding them through this process and supporting them along the way.

Congratulations to the class of 2020! Again, we wish you well as you take independent steps to further develop ‘mind, character, and community’ for yourselves.

Yours Sincerely,

Dr. Bernadette Carmody, Director