By Jane Ng

WHEN Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) started offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma three years ago, it was hoping to expose students to a broader range of subjects and more critical thinking.

The experiment has gone well so far.

Its second batch of students to take the exams posted impressive results - likely among the best in the world - according to numbers released yesterday.

Nine students posted a perfect score of 45 - the same as last year - and the graduating class averaged 40.1. While there were no global rankings released this year, they improved on last year's results, which had already put the school among the top three in the world.

Principal Ong Teck Chin said the results were a pleasant surprise as the 407-member cohort had given his teachers a scare by posting poor common test results.

'We spoke to them on many occasions to remind them not to be complacent. Seeing the first batch do well, we were worried the second batch might think it's so easy,' he said.

ACS(I) is the first Singapore school and the only non-international one to provide the IB programme.

The programme is considered by educators to be more broad-based than the A levels, with students taking six subjects and a course that combines philosophy, religion and logical reasoning.

Students also do a research project accompanied by a 4,000-word essay, and have to clock 150 hours of community service over two years.

This year's showing follows impressive results last year, when the average score was 39.4. Last year, 54 per cent of students scored more than 40 points. The number jumped to 62 per cent this year. Universities such as Cambridge and Oxford take in students with scores of 38 and above.

The improvement has not gone unnoticed internationally.

The regional director of the IB Organisation in the Asia-Pacific, Ms Judith Guy, called this year's results 'exceptional'.

'It's unbelievable. Only 3.7 per cent of students globally score more than 40 points,' she said.

'Last year's results were already impressive by world standards, and to improve with a bigger candidature is extremely impressive. It's an extraordinary tribute to the students and staff of the school.'

Among the top scorers were three girls - Deborah Khoo, 18, Yoon Min Kyeong, 18, and Phan Thi Nam Mai, 21.

Said Deborah, formerly from Singapore Chinese Girls' School: 'The programme offers a lot of breadth and emphases versatility. It doesn't require you to specialise, but that's challenging because you have to be consistent and do well in a lot of subjects.'

The other six top scorers are Ian Liew, 19, Justin Boey, Timothy Lim, Benedict Chen, Daryl Lim and Shaun Ang, all 18.

For Shaun, the diverse modes of assessment proved challenging.

'We don't just have theory papers. We also have oral examinations and we have to prepare for those as well,' he said. He hopes to study chemistry at Cambridge University.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on January 07, 2009.