They may be in the midst of the busiest period of their young lives, but pupils at Wilmington Academy are already looking forward to what the next academic year will bring.

Last summer the school achieved record-setting post-16 results, with all of the youngsters achieving A* to E grades, 82% achieving A* to C grades, and 49% achieving A* and A grades.

But come September students will be able to forego the usual mix of courses and subjects in favour of the catchily titled International Baccalaureate (IB) Career-Related Programme.

Wilmington Academy will be the first non-selective school in Dartford to offer the IB, with Dartford Grammar School (DGS) having offered the diploma to its sixth formers since 1995.

While the IB diploma covers languages, maths, science, and more, the variant to be offered at Wilmington is more focused on honing specific skills for students who already have a career path in mind.

Principal Tracey Trusler said: “The school was not in a good place a while back, so to have repeatedly positive Ofsted inspections and now to become an IB World School is a massive success.

“We are part of the Leigh Academies Trust and two of the other schools — the Leigh Academy and the Leigh UTC — are both going through the [IB] authorisation process at the moment.

“The trust believes this is a really worthwhile programme of study.”

The programme is designed to provide students with “transferable and lifelong skills in applied knowledge, critical thinking, communication, and cross-cultural engagement”.

The minimum entry requirements for students hoping to do the IB programme at Wilmington are five A* to C GSCE grades, including English Language and Maths.

Seventy-five youngsters have already signed up for September, including some from other schools.