A TEAM of three A-level students have won a place in the national finals of a chemistry competition.

Polly Cranmer, from Seaham, Richard Row, from Consett and Joseph O'Connor, from Blackhill are studying A-level Chemistry at New College Durham.

They won the Durham and Wearside heat of the Royal Society of Chemists National Schools' Analyst Competition and will now go through to the final later this month.

The annual competition, organised by The Royal Society of Chemists, has been running since the 1980s and attracts entries from 300 schools across the country.

New College chemistry tutor Roger Hall said: "I am delighted for the team.

"They not only performed extremely well to win the heat, but they also enjoyed themselves and learned a lot from the experience.

"Hopefully, they can now build on their success and perform well in the national final."

The national final will be held this year at the University of Northumbria in Newcastle.

The students will be set a series of chemistry-related tasks, which they will have to carry out during the two-day competition on June 25 and 26.