FIVE east Cleveland students are among the best in the country at making potions fizz and gases bang in the chemistry lab.

The teenagers at Prior Pursglove College in Guisborough, have just received national awards from the International Chemistry Olympiad organised by the Royal Society of Chemists.

Student Toju Sillo, previously of Queen's College, Lago, received a gold grade - the highest accolade.

Michael Osborne, Ben Thorpe and Ben Tyreman all received silver and Kate Shields achieved a bronze grade. There were 671 entries across the country and Toju was in the top 50.

Chemistry teacher Nigel Durie said: "It is the first time that one of our students has achieved a gold. To have three silvers and a bronze award as well is the icing on the cake. We are tremendously proud of all of them as they have worked extremely hard."

There was more good news for the college on the sporting front. The girls biathlon squad won the national championships while the boys were runners-up. Both squads won several regional heats to make it through to the finals in Macclesfield.

The girls team were Laura Welford, Erin Pearson and Becki Livingstone. The boys were James Silk, David O'Reilly and Paul Walton.