As a growing number of top private and state schools in England lose faith in A-levels, interest in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma is increasing fast. IB administrators are reported as believing that demand from the maintained sector will continue to grow as state schools take advantage of the government's promotion of academies, which have much greater freedom over their curriculum than local education authority schools. Private schools, of course, have complete freedom over what curriculum they teach. Katy Ricks, Headmistress of Sevenoaks School - a private school which pioneered the IB - is reported as stating that the IB generates a genuine intellectual excitement in both students and teachers.