Whizz bang! Young chemists win schools contest

CHEMISTRY COMPETITION WINNERS: Students Joe Stelling (15, left), Hal Burke (13), James MacNaughton-Jones (13) and Michael Banks (15, right) from Durham School. Picture: DAVID WOOD (13052210)

CHEMISTRY COMPETITION WINNERS: Students Joe Stelling (15, left), Hal Burke (13), James MacNaughton-Jones (13) and Michael Banks (15, right) from Durham School. Picture: DAVID WOOD (13052206)

CHEMISTRY COMPETITION WINNERS: Students Joe Stelling (15, left), Hal Burke (13), James MacNaughton-Jones (13) and Michael Banks (15, right) from Durham School. Picture: DAVID WOOD (13052202)

First published in News by Mark Tallentire

A SCHOOL has won a regional chemistry contest.

A four-strong team from Durham School triumphed in the regional heat of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Top of the Bench competition.

The squad will compete in the national finals in the spring. There will be a test and a problem solving exercise.

The Durham team is Michael Banks, Joe Stelling, Hal Burke and James MacNaughton-Jones.

Traci Moore, Durham Schools head of chemistry said: Particular outstanding performances were demonstrated by Michael Banks who was able to work out year 12 functional group structures having seen them just once and Hal Burke who knew the element gallium in response to the most obscure clue the teachers had ever heard pure genius.

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Whizz bang! Young chemists win schools contest