A BLACKBURN school boy found the right formula to be crowned overall top performing pupil at a national competition.

Fourteen-year-old James France was the top performing student in the national final of a schools' chemistry competition.

One of a team of four from Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School in Blackburn, James won the Jacqui Clee Trophy for the outstanding individual performance in the Royal Society of Chemistry's Top of the Bench competition.

The QEGS team qualified for the final as regional champions after winning the Manchester and District event and were one of 28 schools competing in London at the Science Museum and Imperial College.

James and team mates Adrian Eccles,16, Tun Win Myint,15, and Katrina Carpenter, 14, faced a test of their knowledge of chemistry and science.

Whilst the QEGS team did not make the top six in the Final, they and their teacher Mr Alan Sagar were delighted to discover that James was awarded the prize for the most outstanding individual contribution.

James was presented with a salver to mark his success by former Commonwealth Games high jump silver medallist, Geoff Parsons.