With the opening of the new academic year, the Ain Khaled campus of Doha British School (DBS) is welcoming its Year 12 students into Sixth Form with plenty of opportunities.

This year’s cohort can study either a two year IB Diploma Programme or a one year International AS Levels course, both providing strong academic foundations for universities in Qatar, the UK and around the globe.

Doha British School has been authorised to offer the IB Diploma Programme since September 2010. Each year, exam results are improving and this year, IB graduate Tharienee Pillai made DBS history, scoring the highest result ever for IB Diploma – an incredible 44 out of 45!

Tharienee started at DBS in Year 7. She was elected Head Girl, received a special prize for her inter-school medical conference presentation and participated in the Pi Day Maths Competition at Carnegie Mellon University. She has developed fully, thanks to her teachers at DBS who have always encouraged her – to take challenges even if she thinks these are beyond her capabilities.

I want to study chemistry or biology with a view of going into pharmacology. I wouldn’t have really thought about if it weren’t for an opportunity that DBS secured for me when I joined and presented at a medical conference. The teachers and career counsellors really help to prepare us for our future beyond DBS.’

This year DBS has a new Head of Sixth Form – Kerry Walton –  extremely committed to her role and aims to support students in realising their personal and academic ambitions. Sixth Form students wear business attire, participate in the wider school life with extra curricular activities and trips. They also have their own canteen and a dedicated Sixth Form Common Room.

According to Ms Walton, the class of 2018 have certainly done the school proud with their outstanding IB results, exceeding the world average point score, with the DBS average at 30 points.

This year brings new and exciting challenges: a new sixth form leadership team is in place with myself as the new Head of Sixth form; Nick Taylor – the IB Coordinator will be supporting our Year 13 students with their Extended Essay and IB course deadlines; Stephanie Innes-Smith, our CAS Coordinator, will be bringing a vast amount of ideas to the Year 12 cohort on their CAS activities.’

The AS curriculum is now in its 3rd year with most subjects now offering the international AS. AS Arabic had fantastic pass rates last year, says Ms Walton, and she said that this is sure to continue into the future.

All Sixth Form students are offered university and career guidance during their course. They receive information on how to apply to a variety of international universities. They will also have the opportunity to meet university representatives in school and at different fairs around Doha.

DBS Careers Education and Guidance Counsellor Sara Prince, said they have many plans for their Sixth Form students.

In addition to continuous one-on-one meetings with all the students, they will also get to experience real working life through internships, volunteer work, career focused school trips, virtual and local meetings with professionals from different industries. A variety of university fairs will also take place throughout the year as well as visits from university representatives from all over the world.‘

IB Diploma students study six subjects – three at standard level and three at higher level. They must choose a range of subjects, as the objective of the IB is to encourage breadth as well as depth across the curriculum. DBS offers Arabic Language, French, Spanish, Geography, Business, Information Technology in a Global Society, History, Design Technology, Environmental Systems and Societies, Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Visual Arts.

To find out more about DBS Sixth Form, visit the DBS website at dohabritishschool.com. You may also call this number for enquiries: 4019 8000.