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 will take place between June 16 and 27.

During their time in the United States the St Wilfrid's students will stay in universities in 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.

The girls will have to find £8,000 to go to the conference.

Meanwhile, Charlotte, Alice and Jade are raising funds through raffles, cake stalls and a sponsored silence. So far, they have raised £450.

And with several of their friends they will spend Easter Saturday bag-packing in a Blackburn superstore to help them towards their big summer check-out.