AS THOUSANDS of Oxfordshire pupils await the results of A-Level exams, dozens who took a different path of study have already picked theirs up.

Pupils at Headington School, St Edward’s School and St Clare’s in Oxford have learnt the results of their International Baccalaureate diploma programme, which is an alternative to A-Levels offering a broader range of subjects and a ‘global’ outlook.

The course is offered at accredited centres all over the world, aiming to develop students who have excellent breadth and depth of knowledge, but there are only a handful of schools offering the diploma in Oxfordshire.

To pass, candidates must score at least 24 out of a possible 45.

Results were published earlier this month and three girls at Headington School - Katya Davisson, Bethany Kippin and Isabelle Bach - all scored an impressive 44 marks.

Katya, who has accepted a university offer at Durham to study music, said: "I was really relieved when I got my results. It’s nice to know two years of impossible work has actually paid off.

"I really don’t want to leave Headington, I’m going to cry a lot. It’s been an incredible experience, I couldn’t recommend it enough to anyone. I just want to do the whole thing again!"

It was Headington’s largest ever IB cohort, with 36 girls sitting the qualifications.

James Stephenson, director of the school's IB, said: "It has been wonderful to see interest in and understanding of this excellent qualification grow over the last ten years at Headington.

"The results are a reflection of a lot of hard work on the girls’ part over the past two years and I am delighted for each of them."

Headington’s headmistress Caroline Jordan added: "The girls have done fantastically well and these excellent results are richly deserved.

"We are lucky enough to be able to offer both A-Level and IB at Headington and strongly believe that having teachers who are expert in both programmes enriches and enhances the learning experience for all."

Of the 157,000 students around the world who sit the IB, only 10 per cent will achieve a result of 40 or more points.

St Clare's in Banbury Road also celebrated an excellent set of IB results, with the best average score in five years.

97 per cent of pupils scored above the world average of 30, and 25 per cent scored at least 40.

In nearby Woodstock Road, teenagers at St Edward's School were also celebrating.

Ilana Cope scored 44 points, and will take up her place to read psychological and behavioural sciences at Robinson College, Cambridge, after a gap year.

Twins Sybilla Hamilton and Octavia Hamilton scored 40 and 39 points respectively, while other high-achievers included Kyla Haslett-Hawkins, Tim Hohage and Kais Mussa, who all recorded 42 points.

The school's warden Stephen Jones said: "With more than half our Upper Sixth taking the IB this year, this is our biggest cohort ever.

"A point score of 37 or above equates to a string of A* and A grades at A-Level, and we are delighted to see so many pupils achieve such high marks.

"Beyond these stellar results, countless more pupils worked extremely hard and were rewarded with the results they need to attend top universities in the UK and overseas."