THREE sixth-form students are looking forward to the trip of a lifetime after making their mark in national exams.

The trio, from St Wilfrid's CE High School, Blackburn, will represent Blackburn with Darwen -- and Great Britain -- at the Global Young Leaders' Conference in New York and Washington DC.

Charlotte Bevitt, Alice Fenton and Jade Widdicombe were nominated to go on the trip following their exceptional sociology results in last summer's GCSE examinations.

Charlotte, 17, from Hoghton, achieved the best mark in Britain, while Jude, 16, from Darwen, was in the top five and Alice, 17, from Grimsargh, gained an A-star.

Students from 80 countries will travel to the conference, which takes place between June 16 and 27.

In the meantime, the girls are hard at work raising funds for the trip and seeking sponsors.

During their time in the United States the St Wilfrid's students will stay in universities in both New York and Washington.

They will meet a senior member of President Bush's administration in the State Department, exchange ideas with with distinguished members of the international community and join in an interactive briefing at the United Nations.

The trio will also visit the New York Stock Exchange and international embassies.

At the conference, they will take part in a global summit simulation, acting as diplomats representing their country and deal with major issues like terrorism, international drug trafficking and global warming.

Harold Gillibrand, PR and marketing coordinator at St Wilfrid's, said: "We are extremely proud of what the girls have achieved. To be nominated to represent the United Kingdom at such an event is a great honour."

The girls will have to find £8,000 to go to the conference. Mr Gillibrand said: "We are doing all we can to support them and would be very grateful if any company or individual could be of assistance."