A DALTON student is among three Barrow Sixth Form College students who achieved silver awards in this year’s UK Chemistry Olympiad.

Zachariah Briant, 18, secured the award in the prestigious national competition alongside Brad Hayton-Mulvey and Ben O’Flynn. The trio are completing their A levels at the Rating Lane campus.

They were among the elite chemistry students nationwide selected for the event, which is run by the Royal Society of Chemistry to challenge students. It includes a written paper on real-world chemistry problems and is a chance to showcase skills required at university level.

Head of chemistry Brian Gibson, of Ulverston, who presented them with their silver awards, said the competition is only for the brightest chemists in the country.

“This award is very challenging and their achievement puts them in the top 1,500 A level chemistry students nationally,” he said. “The questions are degree standard and the students have to apply their knowledge to situations that are not familiar and solve problems. They have done extremely well, even better than our students last year and we’re very proud of them.”