Young biology and chemistry boffins from Stockton Riverside College (SRC) Bede Sixth Form in County Durham collected gold, silver and bronze medals in the British Biology and Chemistry Olympiads.

The national competitions, run by the Society of Biology and the Royal Society of Chemistry, are open to students studying post-16 sciences

James Fryatt won gold in biology and silver in chemistry; Ben Ryan won silver for chemistry and was commended for biology; Jessica Holmes got bronze for chemistry; Helen Robertson got bronze for biology and Hannah Holmes was highly commended for biology.

Dr Richard Spencer, head of biology at SRC Bede Sixth Form, said: “We’ve known for a long time that our science students are up there with the best in the UK. Now we’ve proved it.”

Featured image caption: The science of winning: Ben Ryan, Helen Robertson, both 17, James Fryatt, Hannah Holmes and Jessica Holmes, all 18