BSB records one of its best IB results in a decade

The British School of Brussels (BSB) is celebrating an outstanding set of International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma results for the Class of 2026, with performances ranking among the school’s best of the past decade on most measures, excluding the COVID years.

Students achieved an impressive average IB score of 36 points, alongside an overall pass rate of 98%, up from 95% last year. These results reflect strong performance across the entire cohort, with 60% of students scoring above 36 points and 90% achieving more than 30 points.

Results at the top end were particularly impressive. This year, 23% of BSB students achieved 40 points or more, compared with just 7% the previous year.

Among them, three students achieved an exceptional score of 44 out of a possible 45 points, placing them very close to the maximum possible result in the IB Diploma Programme.

For BSB, however, the significance of the 2026 results extends beyond its highest-scoring students. The school welcomes students with a wide range of abilities onto its IB Diploma pathway, following individual guidance to help them select the courses best suited to their strengths and ambitions.

The combination of a 98% pass rate, a high average score and strong results throughout the cohort demonstrates the breadth of academic achievement among this year’s graduates.

BSB attributes these results to a combination of student commitment, dedicated teaching and sustained support from families throughout the two-year IB Diploma Programme.

The school’s approach is based on providing both high academic expectations and broad access to the IB Diploma pathway. Students are supported in choosing an appropriate combination of courses and encouraged to challenge themselves according to their individual abilities and ambitions.

James Penstone, Principal and CEO of BSB, highlighted this balance between ambition and opportunity, describing the results as evidence that high expectations, broad opportunities and excellent academic outcomes can go hand in hand.

Beyond the academic results themselves, the IB Diploma is designed to equip students with skills that will support them through university, further study and their future professional lives.

For BSB’s Class of 2026, these results mark the culmination of two years of sustained work and open the door to a wide variety of next steps. The school emphasises that the achievements reflect not only final examination scores, but also the effort, personal development and perseverance demonstrated by students throughout the programme.

With an average score of 36, a 98% pass rate, almost one quarter of students achieving 40 points or more and three students reaching 44 out of 45, the Class of 2026 has delivered one of BSB’s strongest sets of IB results of the past decade.