Four pupils at The Hawthorns School in Bletchingley are celebrating after winning a prestigious prize in an international chemistry competition.

The pupils, Jack Talbot, George Parrington, Michael Clarke and Paul Randall, all aged 13, were taking part in the annual Royal Society of Chemistry Bill Bryson Competition.

The competition attracts hundreds of entries from all over the world, and this year, pupils were asked to answer the tricky question, “Where is the art in science?”

Calling themselves the Camera Chemists, the Hawthorns four entered, and among more than 550 entries, they won one of only four prizes, scooping first place in the secondary schools category.

Jo Rogers, head of Science at The Hawthorns, said the students had spent many hours carrying out chemistry experiments in an after-school club, and capturing the chemical reactions using a super-fast shutter speed camera.

They then put all their pictures together in a portfolio.

Ms Rogers said: “I am so pleased that the boys have won such a prestigious competition. They managed to capture some fantastic images of the different experiments, and they even had to practice their chemistry at the same time.”

As part of their prize, the boys will get to attend a prize-giving ceremony in London and meet Bill Bryson, the famous author of books including A Short History of Nearly Everything.