Why Cambridge Assessment International Education Checkpoint, IGCSE and AS Level Examinations?

Ten years ago, the bilingual team and the heads of department chose to offer our pupils in the bilingual section a set of exams with a global reach. These exams are the international versions of exams done by pupils in British schools and are recognized internationally.

In addition to the international scope of these exams, we had to consider our offer of Cambridge International examinations with respect to the OIB, or the Option Internationale du Baccalauréat, renamed BFI (Baccalauréat Français International) since September 2022, offered by the French Éducation Nationale.

We decided to offer Cambridge International examinations for the following reasons:

• Assessment of pupils’ work remains independent of continuous assessment and examinations which contribute to the Baccalauréat grades (‘tronc commun’ assessment and exams).
• All grades and exam results do not therefore impact the pupils’ grades in their overall Baccalauréat results (‘moyenne du Bac’): this is a key factor in reducing the pressure on pupils in the bilingual section in Terminale at Blanche de Castille.
• The bilingual pupils in Terminale thus leave high school with their Baccalauréat AND their international examination diplomas in Checkpoint, IGCSE and AS Level exams.