Caitlin’s Story

Name: Caitlin Hawthorn

Subjects studied: IB Diploma – Higher History, Biology and Maths / Standard English Literature, Global Politics and Spanish

Former school: Humphry Davy

What’s next: Oxford University – History and Politics

High achiever Caitlin hopes to progress onto Oxford University to study History and Politics after completing the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma.

After completing Year 11 Caitlin was undecided on which subjects to study at College, and where they could take her, leading to her choosing to study a variety of subjects on the IB Diploma.

Caitlin said: “I briefly considered A Levels, but by the end of Year 11 I was still undecided between a Science or Humanities based route, whereas the IB gave me everything that I wanted to do and has allowed me time to make that decision, which was really appealing”.

Praising the sense of community between students who choose the IB, Caitlin describes her favourite part of College life as; “the fact that I share classes with the same bunch of people, we’ve all become really close”.

Caitlin continued: “Because we have quite small classes, there’s a lot of one-to-one interaction and specific support in terms of exams advice and coursework advice.”

Speaking about her favourite part of the IB, Caitlin says: “I love how it’s all interconnected; we reference every subject in all of our other subjects.”

Caitlin, who now has an offer at Oxford University to study History and Politics, shared her advice for students who are considering the IB Diploma: “If you’re not sure about the subjects when you’re first applying, do it! I came into the IB having never done politics, and I’ve grown to love it.”