Brain-box Chemistry students at Reigate Grammar School (RGS) are celebrating hitting on a winning formula.

The pupils have made school history by scooping a record-breaking number of gold, silver and bronze awards in this year's International Chemistry Olympiad.

Considered by many to be tougher than Chemistry A Level, every year many students across the country walk away from the Olympiad without a medal. However, five RGS students - Mike Ellis, Matt Pardoe, Kasia Warburton, Rhys Thomson and James Scott - achieved gold medals, with a further nine students gaining silver, and 15 gaining bronze medals.

In fact, Kasia's score not only secured her a gold medal, but also saw her achieve the second highest score in the UK.

The feat saw her chosen by the Royal Society of Chemistry Olympiad Committee to take part in a selection weekend at Cambridge University, during which she competed in theoretical and practical testing as part of a selection process for the UK’s international Olympiad team.

RGS head of Chemistry, Edd Roberts, said: “This is a remarkable success story for the RGS team and the students should be proud of their achievement.”

He said: “Across the country, 40% of students walk away from the Olympiad without any medal. “For our students to have gained such success in a truly tough test of their knowledge and ability is a real cause for celebration.”