Victorian students shine in International Baccalaureate
Mont Albert student Kirwan Schoenborn (18) received 42 points out of 45.
“I was so nervous when I opened [the results] “I was quite shocked,” he said.
He has won a scholarship to Ormond College, University of Melbourne, and will study a bachelor’s degree in science.
Glen Waverley Wesley campus IB dux Rick Foley achieved a perfect score of 45 and said the scope of the IB diploma helped prepare him for real-world challenges. Rick hopes to study medicine or engineering.
At Methodist Ladies’ College, two students achieved perfect diploma scores of 45, three students achieved 44 and 19 students achieved perfect diploma scores of 40 or above.
Principal Julia Shea said the school’s IB results showed what could be achieved when young people were encouraged to take responsibility for their learning and pursue their interests with confidence.
Loading
Nishka Khanna, the university’s IB dux, said she was quite nervous about the results opening.
“My stomach was in knots,” he said. But his perfect score allowed him to relax.
“Now I feel like I can finally stop holding my breath,” he said. “I’m proud of myself and so grateful to everyone who brought me here.”
Nishka, who plans to pursue a double degree in a field related to law and politics, balanced her studies while being the lead in her senior musical, which she said helped her studies.
“I would be able to come home and continue my studies feeling a little refreshed because I had already done what I loved,” he said.
There are 26 Victorian schools offering the IB diploma and 815 students received their results this year, compared to 823 last year.
Diploma is most popular in Victoria. 742 students completed the exam in NSW, 727 in Queensland, 426 in South Australia and 56 in Tasmania.
Loading
Public school Albert Park College had a class of IB students and 23 per cent of the students scored above 40. “We are pretty proud of these kids,” assistant principal Hayley Schirmer said.
The school won the Victorian education excellence award for global learning and teaching for its IB programme.
Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School principal Sue Harrap said the school had been offering IB for three years and this was the school’s best year yet.
“Of our 12 students over the 300 years, only 13 of our students completed it,” he said. “But they did incredibly well. Average raw score is 39.4 out of 45. Median is 41.”
“We’re really happy for them. They work hard and it’s a really challenging but rewarding course for the students.”
23,392 worldwide Students received their diplomas or career-related programs in November 2025 exams; This was an increase of 6.8 percent compared to the previous year.
The global average diploma score in 2025 was 29.3 points.
Start your day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
