Bella and Lauren are on top of the world: IB Results Day 2025

Bella and Lauren are amongst the highest achievers in the world having collected their International Baccalaureate (IB) results at Truro College this week.

The pair were awarded an incredible 44-point score out of a possible 45, equivalent to five A* and A grades at A Level.

The remarkable, near perfect, score sees Lauren, from Falmouth, accept her offer to study Medicine at the University of Oxford. Bella, from Truro, will now study Combined Honours with Social Sciences at Durham University, a member of the prestigious Russell Group.

Exceptional student success rates across the IB at Truro College, Cornwall’s only provider, have increased even further in 2025 with a staggering pass rate of 98%, up from 92% in 2024 and well above the latest published global pass rate of 80%.

Truro College’s average student point score of 35.29 also sits well above the international average of 30.58 with nearly a quarter of the College’s students achieving a score of 40 points or more, equivalent to four A*s at A level and 90% of students achieving a score of 30 or more.

Bella commented: “I’m very happy and really excited. I came to Truro College because it had the IB and I could still do loads of subjects. My favourite part was the people because I made some of my closest friends here alongside studying really interesting subjects. My lecturers were so amazing, they went above and beyond. Without the IB I wouldn’t be doing the course I’m going to do now, it helped me realise my passion for politics and international relations.”

Lauren said: “The IB helped me stand out in my Oxford application. The balance of Science and essay-based subjects gave me the skills I needed. The highlight of my time was definitely going on the Eswatini trip last year, it was an amazing experience.”

“I’VE NEVER BEEN A VERY ACADEMIC PERSON”

The College has seen the highly respected international qualification appeal to learners of all abilities, offering the opportunity to study an eclectic mix of six subjects, less typical of other post-16 learning options.

Opportunities to engage in critical thinking and completing a series of extended essays and projects appeals to Truro College’s IB students while they are encouraged to look, reach and go further with international travel and charity work, including the annual trip to Eswatini in Southern Africa to support the Shewula community to develop sustainably and improve educational opportunities in the region.

Shortly after picking up highly respected results of 31 points, Louis from Penryn said; “I’ve never been a very academic person”. His results allow him to pursue his dream of studying Medicine with his sights set on becoming a Doctor.

Louis went on to say: “I never thought I was going to be good enough, never going to be smart enough. I didn’t think that was possible for me a year or two years ago, I wasn’t even planning to go to university but the IB and my lectures have given me a lot of hope, realising what I’m actually capable of doing.

“I chose the IB because I like to be busy and I wanted to keep my options open. I feel like I’ve learnt a lot from other people on my course, I feel like a lot of them are smarter than me, but I felt it was good to be in an environment around smart people. I feel like you can never know what you can reach without testing your limits and I’ve made loads of friends”.

Paul Gill, IB Coordinator at Truro and Penwith College, said: “We are incredibly proud of the exceptional results achieved by our students and are thrilled to see our already extremely high achievement rates increase even further in 2025.

“This level of achievement is only possible with extremely high levels of commitment from all our students and team of dedicated lecturers, my thanks and congratulations go to every single one of them.

“We will continue to follow the journeys of our students as they progress to some of the top universities across the country including Oxford, Exeter, Durham, Bristol, Bath and Edinburgh, studying a wide range of courses including Creative Writing, Theatre Direction and Data Science, as well as Medicine, Architecture, Law and PPE.”

The College is still accepting applications for students to start in September 2025. Apply online to start your journey.