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Studying on the IB Diploma Programme helped Daniel Hawkins discover a passion for medicine. Daniel graduated from the school in 2020 (pictured above left). In 2021 he will be embarking on his first steps towards becoming a doctor, after securing offers from two Medical Schools in the UK.
Studying for the IB Diploma gave me exposure to a wide range of subjects, and my HL Biology and Chemistry courses allowed me to discover my passion for the scientific part of Medicine.
I’m proud of achieving a final IB score of 42, and especially proud of getting a 7 in HL Chemistry as I started the course achieving much lower grades. Outside of studying, I’m really proud of winning the school’s “Most Improved Player” award in basketball.
With COVID, we all had to adapt to going online for everything from classes to university interviews, which took some getting used to. Additionally, the UCAT and BMAT Admissions Tests were very difficult exams that took a lot of preparation. Personally, my biggest challenge was re-finding the confidence in myself to reapply for Medicine, after being unsuccessful on my first attempt; it didn’t help that I was not able to take a gap year due to COVID. Despite all the challenges, becoming a doctor is my dream, so I never gave up.
I truly feel that I couldn’t have succeeded like this without being at BISS. I think that all my teachers did a great job with helping me succeed academically. Although none of my friends were Medicine applicants, they’ve all been really emotionally supportive. The Higher Education Department at the school was really helpful in scheduling clinical experience, interview preparation and organising the BMAT. I want to give a special thanks to Mr Weston for giving me continual support with my re-application, even though I’m no longer a BISS student. There are some lessons I learnt at BISS that will stick with me for a lifetime, no matter whether I’m a medical student, junior doctor or a senior consultant. I want to thank everyone who helped me get here.
Vanessa and Suzanne Marton graduated from BISS in 2012, and both went on to study Law at the London School of Economics & Political Science and University of Oxford, respectively. We've caught up with them to see how they're getting on as successful lawyers, and asked seven questions reflecting on what made BISS special to them.
Eugene graduated from BISS Puxi in 2022 and is currently studying BA (Hons) Architecture at Edinburgh University. In this interview, Eugene talks us through the valuable experiences he had at BISS, how international education helped to shape his future ambitions, and provides some useful advice for students looking to follow a similar path.