Switch to an IB school with the Diploma now, so she doesn't have to move again at 16?

fig_fern_36922 Oct 2026

My daughter is in grade 6 at an IB school that only goes up to grade 10. Most families there move at 16, either to a Diploma school or to an intermediate college. I'm wondering whether it is easier to make one move now, for grade 7, than to do it in the middle of her teens with board exams around the corner. For those whose children changed schools at 11 or 12: did the admission involve an entrance test, or did the school go by previous reports? And did your child adjust within a term, or did it take longer?

1 comment

mango_balcony_111023 Oct 2026
Primary teacher at an international school here, so I see the middle-school joiners from the staff room rather than as a parent. At ours, Grade 7 applicants sit a short English and maths assessment, and the previous reports are read alongside it. Most of the children who joined at 11 or 12 settled within a term. The ones who struggled were usually the ones who hadn't wanted to move. Is your daughter keen, or is this more your plan for now?