Louis picked up his International Baccalaureate (IB) results with his classmates and students across the globe on Tuesday, achieving a highly respected grade of 31, that will see him study Medicine at the University of Southampton, the next step towards his dream career as a surgeon.
After achieving lower than expected 3, 5 and 6 grades at GCSE Louis explains he was “clueless and lost with no direction” and that staff at Truro College “motivated me to believe in myself”. Louis went on to say: “I never believed I would be smart enough to study Medicine and didn’t take it seriously as something I could achieve.
“I chose the IB because I wasn’t sure what I was going to do initially and it allowed me to be very well versed in lots of subjects. I felt it was a bit soon to give up on all of the subjects I studied at GCSE, especially as I wasn’t sure and it kept my options open. I love how diverse the IB is, you get to do something different every day and it’s really fun”.
The class of 2026 at Truro College, Cornwall’s only provider of the IB, achieved incredible success with a staggering pass rate of 94%, well above the global pass rate of 82.6%.
Equivalent to studying up to four A Levels, the IB is a popular choice for students of all abilities who wish to study six subjects post-GCSE and maintain a broad range of study.
86% of Truro College students achieved top grades of 30 or more, with 11% of the group achieving scores over 40, equivalent to four A*s at A Level, a feat only achieved by 5% of learners globally.
Faren, from St Agnes, achieved a score of 40 and is heading to Oxford to study English. Faren commented: “It’s so surreal, I still can’t believe it, when I first applied (to Oxford) I didn’t really expect to get it, my family is so happy, my parents started crying immediately.
“The IB was such an amazing experience thanks to the community and all the friendships that I formed, everybody was so supportive all the time. It was so nice having friends that were going through the same things.
“I would definitely recommend it, I know loads of people that made loads of friends and really enjoyed it”.
In addition to studying an eclectic mix of subjects, the College has seen the highly respected international qualification appeal to learners thanks to the opportunity to engage in critical thinking and complete an extended essay in a subject of their choice.
Truro College’s IB students are also 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.
Emma, from Lostwithiel, achieved a fantastic score of 36 points and said; “The IB was challenging and fun, it’s a nice community of students so you get to know each other well.
“It gives you opportunities for trips, including induction day at Tomperrow, Threemilestone, which is a lot of fun with team building and activities. I got to go to Iceland as part of my Geography course, which was a really good experience”.
Emma is set to pursue a career as a Quantity Surveyor, having successfully applied for an Apprenticeship position at the Threemilestone office of the national firm Ward Williams.
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 students of all abilities find their futures thanks to the IB programme.
“The level of achievement across this group of students is only possible with extremely high levels of commitment and a 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, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Bath and Exeter, with a wide range of courses including Chemistry, Politics and International Relations, English Literature, as well as Medicine, Conservation Biology, and Forensic Psychology.”
The College is still accepting applications for students to start in September 2026. Visit truro-penwith.ac.uk to start your journey.
