MALVERN College says it has been justified in embracing the International Baccalaureate (IB) as an alternative to A-levels after the university admissions body ruled it was more demanding for the brightest students.

Top grades in the IB should be worth more than As at A-level when teenagers apply to university, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) said.

An exceptional candidate achieving maximum grades in the IB would score the equivalent of six and a half A-level As under the new UCAS points tariff.

The IB has been growing in popularity among schools who want to offer bright sixth-formers a broader course than A-Levels and Malvern College has seen its numbers rise dramatically since it started offering it 14 years ago.

IB students take six subjects, compared to the usual three A-levels. Hugh Carson, the headmaster of Malvern College, said: "UCAS's new assessment confirms our confidence in our academic achievements. We are naturally delighted that they have now made exact comparisons between IB and A-level results possible in place of the rough and ready assessments of the past."

IB students take three subjects at higher and three subjects at standard level, but also write an extended essay, take a course in the theory of knowledge and engage in some form of creative or community service.

l Seventy-two pupils at Malvern College who took the IB exams this year have achieved an average score of 35 points (out of a maximum possible of 45) which, according to the UCAS's newly announced tariff, is the equivalent of 4.5 A grades at A-level. Thirteen candidates obtained 40 or more points which now equates to 5.5 A grades.