IB Diploma or A Levels in Dubai? How to Choose Your Sixth Form Subjects

The first thing to bring to a Dubai sixth form open evening is a subject you would hate to give up. Bring a second list of the subjects you might need for university. If those lists include Physics, Maths and the language you speak at home, your choice will depend on the level at which you can study each one and whether all three fit into the same week. A school's prospectus can make both routes sound right until you ask it to put your actual choices on a timetable.

The IB Diploma gives you six subjects, including a mix of Higher and Standard Levels, with a research essay, Theory of Knowledge and a programme of activity and service running alongside them. A Levels let you concentrate on fewer subjects. At Sunmarke, for example, students typically take three or four, with an optional Extended Project Qualification. Both routes can take you to the same degree. The better fit is the route on which you can take the required subjects at the required level and sustain the work across two years. IB assessment FAQ · Sunmarke A Levels

What actually changes on your timetable?

An IB student's six subjects typically include language and literature, a second language, an individuals and societies subject, a science and maths. The remaining slot can hold an arts subject or a permitted subject from another group. Some interdisciplinary courses can count across groups. That flexibility is worth exploring if you need two sciences or if you want to keep an arts subject alongside a strong science profile. The school still has to offer the right combination. IB Diploma passing criteria and subject structure

Higher Level and Standard Level describe different teaching loads. The IB recommends 240 teaching hours per Higher Level subject and 150 per Standard Level subject. Imagine studying Maths, Physics and English at HL. You would also need space in your week for three other subjects, alongside the Diploma core. If you enjoy writing and want to keep a language, that breadth may be one of the best things about the route. If your ideal week would make more room for advanced problem sets and a substantial design project, look closely at a suitable A Level combination and how those courses assess your work. IB teaching hours and Diploma requirements

Think about the ordinary weeks as well as exam season. For the Diploma, there will be weeks when a Standard Level subject needs real attention at the same time as you are refining an Extended Essay question or catching up on Higher Level work. For A Levels, there may be a larger share of your academic week riding on three subjects you chose at 16. If one turns out to suit you less than you expected, you will feel that choice every week. Ask a current student to describe a week when several deadlines landed together. You will learn more from the answer than from a generic claim about which route is harder.

Start with the university course and work backwards

Take three courses you can imagine applying for, including one that is a stretch. Write down the required subjects, the exact level or syllabus, the grades, and any additional steps the department lists. If you are comparing two programmes, make two columns. A subject that meets the requirement at A Level may need to be taken at Higher Level in the Diploma. Two IB courses with Maths in the name can be treated differently by a university. The course page and its international qualifications page are worth reading together. Oxford international qualifications and IB Maths policy

If you are considering engineering

Oxford's Engineering Science course provides a concrete example. Its published A Level requirement is A*A*A, including Mathematics and Physics, with the A stars in Mathematics, Physics or Further Mathematics. Its published IB requirement is 40 points including the core, with 776 at Higher Level and 7s in Higher Level Mathematics and Physics. The relevant questions for a Dubai applicant are whether the two subjects run together and whether they can take both at the required level. The Oxford course also describes Further Mathematics as helpful, with admission possible without it. Oxford Engineering Science requirements

Say a school offers the full Diploma and your preferred maths course only at SL. That option may suit a different degree, but it falls short of this engineering example. If you prefer A Levels, get the school to confirm the Physics and Mathematics pairing and your third subject before you put weight on the published list. If you are drawn to several kinds of engineering, compare those course pages too. The Oxford example shows how to read a requirement, and your own shortlist determines which other subjects matter.

If you are considering medicine

For Oxford Medicine, the published A Level requirement is A*AA in three subjects taken in the same academic year, with at least an A in Chemistry and in one of Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Further Mathematics. The IB requirement is 39 points with 766 at Higher Level, and HL Chemistry plus one of Biology, Physics or Mathematics. Build your own shortlist before choosing the second science. A choice that works for one medical school can narrow your options if another course specifies a different pair. Oxford Medicine requirements

On the Diploma route, put the required science subjects into the HL column before filling out the rest of the form. On the A Level route, ask how the school handles access to Chemistry if you are doing Double Award Science, and what grades it wants to see. At Repton, the published 2025–26 booklet gave a grade 7 in GCSE Chemistry or 7/7 in GCSE Double Award Science as the Chemistry threshold. That illustrates the two separate hurdles. You first have to get into the school subject, then earn the grades for the degree. Ask for the equivalent rule for your entry year. Repton 2025–26 A Level and BTEC options booklet

If you are choosing between very different degrees

A student drawn to history and physics might like how the Diploma lets them keep both while continuing maths and a language. They still need to decide where to use the Higher Level places. A student applying to several courses with similar subject requirements might get more value from a tightly focused set of A Levels. Make a shortlist based on courses you would genuinely study, then try two subject combinations against it. This is a better test of flexibility than trying to keep every imaginable degree open.

Compare how your subjects are assessed

The IB awards grades for six subjects, each on a scale up to 7. Theory of Knowledge and the Extended Essay together can add up to three core points, for a maximum of 45. Creativity, Activity, Service must be completed. The Diploma normally requires at least 24 points and has other passing conditions. A university can ask for a particular Higher Level grade as well as an overall total, which is why the engineering applicant needs to plan for both. IB Diploma award and scoring rules

For A Levels, ask for the awarding body and specification for each of your intended courses. Cambridge International, for instance, offers routes that include taking all the A Level papers in one session or taking AS first and completing the A Level in a later session where the subject permits. That rule is specific to Cambridge. A timetable that says “AS” could describe a formal exam entry or an internal school milestone, so ask what result is actually awarded and how it counts. Cambridge International AS & A Level assessment routes

The most revealing comparison is one subject you plan to take either way. Ask the IB department how it sequences assessed work and revision across two years. Ask the A Level department which written papers, practical tasks or coursework apply to the exact specification. If you would love a substantial individual project, ask whether the A Level timetable leaves space for an EPQ and when you would complete it. If longer independent writing is something you want to get better at, ask who supervises the Extended Essay and how the school helps students narrow a topic early enough to do it well.

Two Dubai schools where you can compare both routes

Repton School Dubai, Nad Al Sheba

Repton offers A Levels and the IB Diploma in sixth form. It is useful here because the school publishes separate options documents with enough detail to see how subject access works. The linked 2025–26 A Level booklet listed six GCSEs at grade 6 or above, including English Language and Mathematics, as the general A Level threshold, and set separate requirements for subjects such as Biology and Chemistry. The IB booklet's option grid is labelled 2024/25. It includes an example of a direct timetable conflict between HL Mathematics and HL English and says some courses may be withdrawn if too few students select them. Bring both your preferred and fallback combinations to the school and ask which fit the new grid. Repton curriculum · Repton IB options booklet

For 2026–27, Repton publishes AED 102,753 annual tuition in both Year 12 and Year 13. The figure is the school's year-group tuition, with boarding priced separately. KHDA's dated 2023–24 inspection table records an overall Outstanding judgement for Repton School. The subject pairing and the entry conditions are the details to settle with the sixth form team before choosing a route. Repton fees · KHDA 2023–24 inspection ratings

Repton's official account shares a university destinations reel covering the UAE Repton family. It gives a feel for how the group marks the move from school to university. Repton Dubai on Instagram · Repton Class of 2026 reel

Sunmarke School, Jumeirah Village Triangle

At Sunmarke, compare the A Level path of typically three or four subjects, with the option of an EPQ, against the full IB Diploma. The school's Diploma and A Level pages explain the two programmes, and its options archive is a starting point for the subject conversation. If you are interested in retaining a language, ask which languages and levels run in your entry year. If you are keeping two sciences on your list, ask where each would sit on both timetables and which GCSE results or equivalents qualify you for the classes. A current option grid and department entry requirements are more useful to that decision than a prospectus headline. Sunmarke Diploma · Sunmarke sixth form options archive

Sunmarke’s 2026–28 booklet shows how those entry rules can work. The A Level table lists GCSE grade 8 for Mathematics. For Physics, it lists grade 7 in both GCSE Physics and Mathematics, or 7–7 in Additional or Double Award Science alongside grade 7 in Mathematics. The same booklet distinguishes an internal end-of-year exam for a linear A Level from an external AS exam where applicable. That makes it worth asking what your own Year 12 assessment calendar would look like. Sunmarke 2026–28 sixth form booklet

Sunmarke publishes AED 91,068 for Year 12 and AED 91,643 for Year 13 in its 2026–27 tuition table. Its KHDA Year 12 fact sheet lists an approved tuition amount and a tuition discount, followed by a total of AED 93,308 with books. Board exam fees are listed as charged by the board, so budget for them separately. KHDA's 2023–24 overall judgement was Very good. Sunmarke fees · Sunmarke Year 12 KHDA fee sheet · KHDA Sunmarke directory entry

Sunmarke's post about a World Scholar's Cup session with secondary students gives one example of debate and collaborative writing outside regular lessons. Sunmarke on Instagram · World Scholar's Cup visit

What to ask before you accept a place

Give the school your exact first-choice combination. On an IB form, write HL or SL next to every subject, including the full name of the maths course. On an A Level form, ask for the exact specification and whether you will sit formal exams in Year 12. Ask which choices are confirmed, which depend on grades or class numbers, and when you will hear if a class cannot run. If your family needs a UAE school-leaving equivalency or you expect to apply locally, ask the counsellor to check the rules for your circumstances before you finalise your subjects.

Think about the fallback in terms of what you would actually be giving up. Moving English from HL to SL may work if your likely degree asks for HL Physics and Maths and you still want English on the timetable. Swapping out Physics because two subjects clash may close that same degree route. A good fallback changes something you can live with. If every fallback drops a required subject, take the original combination to a different school while you still have a choice.

Frequently asked questions

Is a fourth A Level always useful?

It can be useful if it adds a subject that matters to your intended course or that you genuinely want to study. Start with the published offer for the degree and see what the fourth subject adds. Then look at the time you would give it in a week when all four subjects have deadlines. For some students the best use of that time is doing stronger work in three subjects or taking an optional project.

Can I keep an arts subject with two sciences in the IB?

Ask the school to map all six choices against the Diploma group rules. A second science often uses the slot that would otherwise hold an arts subject. Interdisciplinary options and the school's actual timetable can change what fits, so put the full combination in front of the coordinator. Also check that the science a university requires is available at the right level.

Can I switch route after Year 12?

Ask before you enrol if a switch is a real possibility. An A Level department and a Diploma coordinator will have different work to account for, from topics already taught to assessed work and exam entries. Ask which subjects you could keep, what you would have to complete and whether you would need to restart Year 12. It is easier to choose a strong fallback now than to reconstruct a two-year course halfway through.