News

Will Grover has just done something extraordinary. 18 year old Will, who has just left Dane Court Grammar School, gained a perfect score in his International Baccalaureate exams – 45 points. There are 2000 schools across the world that offer the IB, but only 109 students gained 45 points and only 39 in the UK. Will is in the top 0.25% of students in the whole world.

This incredible score is a first for Thanet. IB students have to study six subjects, including a language, a science and maths. They also have to study a core that requires them to spend 150 hours on worthwhile projects, as well as a study of the Theory of Knowledge. Dane Court has been offering IB for five years and has just ditched A levels to go entirely over to the IB and its vocational equivalent, the IBCC.

Will said "The IB was tough, but so worth it! I wanted to do the IB because I realised that otherwise I would only have studied the sciences and maths and I knew that I would need a foreign language in order to be successful. School isn't just about learning stuff: it's about developing skills to enable me to enjoy the rest of my life, both professionally and privately."
As a part of his studies, Will wrote a research paper on factors affecting ultra violet absorption by sun screens and a 2000 word essay on 'Vocabulary not only communicates some knowledge, it shapes what we can know." He is now applying to read Chemical Engineering at Cambridge University. When asked how it felt to gain a perfect score, Will said "I am happy and very proud. All the hard work has paid off. But I always wanted to get 45 points and so getting it was a relief. But now I've done it, I want to move on to something bigger."
Executive Headteacher, Paul Luxmoore, said "Will is very modest – this is an extraordinary achievement and Will is a brilliant student. This is a big deal for Dane Court and all of Will's teachers – but it's also a phenomenal accolade for Thanet and puts us right on the international map – where we deserve to be!"