They are three pupils who are showing all the elements for success.A trio of students from Sir John Leman High School in Beccles are celebrating after winning a place in the national final of a chemistry contest.

Raghav Thoppil, Lauren Saunders and Alex Curtis overcame competition from schools across East Anglia and are now hoping to build on that achievement when the travel to Aberdeen next month for the final of the Royal Society of Chemistry Schools Analyst Competition.

Raghav admitted he and his team were slightly nervous when they turned up at University of East Anglia for the regional contest last week.

'We looked around and saw lots of other students, some with their names and schools embroidered on their lab coats, and it was a bit intimidating,' he added.

'You can't help looking around and thinking 'everyone else knows what they're doing and maybe you're doing it wrong'.'

It is the first time a team from Sir John Leman has entered the competition and associate coordinator of A level chemistry Julie Boothby said it was a last-minute decision and her Year 12 students took the last place in the contest.

She said: 'I picked three of our gifted and talented students because I thought it would be nice to give them a further challenge and push to the normal everyday chemistry lessons and also, thinking about university, show them what a university laboratory looks like and how it works.'

As part of the competition, the teams were asked to carry out a series of practical, analytical tests which were judged for skill, understanding and accuracy.

Raghav said: 'At the end of the competition, they announced the winning teams in reverse order and we were worried because we had no idea how we had done.

'It's fantastic and we are nervous about the final but also really excited.'

The trio are now brushing up on their skills before heading to the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen to compete along with 19 other teams for the Challenge Shield on June 22 and 23.

Have you or your team triumphed in a national competition? Email lynn.crombie@archant.co.uk or call 01502 712060.