THERE was something fishy going on when a group of youngsters took part in a national chemistry competition.

Lower sixth students from Wearside and Durham used all their powers of investigating and knowledge of chemistry during the local heats of the Schools Analyst Competition.

The event, run by the Royal Society of Chemistry, aims to show youngsters that science can be fun.

The eight teams took part in an exercise in which they were given three hours to find out why the fish in an imaginary local river had died.

There were three possible culprits: the nearby chemical factory, pesticides from an apple orchard, and pollutants from a new housing estate.

Dr Roger Reeve, senior lecturer in chemistry at Sunderland University, said: "The scenario we devised for pupils was the kind of problem they may come across as scientists in the real world.

"It is a tricky problem, but one that would interest them and keep them thinking.

"This kind of event is great for chemistry, as it shows it is not a dry subject. And it seems to be working because, over the years, we have seen pupils who entered the competition coming to Sunderland to study chemistry."

Dr Reeve and his team chose New College Durham as the winners, and they will now go through to the next round.

The team received £50 for the school, and each of the three team members received a £10 book token.