STUDENT physicists from Colchester have won international recognition from the world’s leading scientists.

The group of 17 from Colchester Royal Grammar School set out to verify part of Einstein’s theory of Special Relativity before competing in and winning, the CERN Beamline for Schools contest at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research near Geneva.

The all-expenses paid trip to the home of the Large Hadron Collider began when Henry Bloomfield’s mother spotted a twitter competition.

Just over a year later the team, called Relatively Special, were carrying out tests of their own which proved so successful, they were named joint winners of the competition against some of the best physics students in the world.

Henry, 17, said: “I was there for 12 days and felt like a proper scientist and learned so much.

“We came up with an idea, researched more and came up with a plan.

“When we saw the first graph, it was such a great feeling.”

The team considered the Lorentz factor which investigates time, length and relative mass change of an object in movement.

Theoretical calculations were made, tested and proven.

James Hirst, 17, said: “It was the most amazing experience of my life.”

He is studying physics, chemistry, maths, further maths and additional maths.

He added: “We spent all our spare time in the analysis room.

“It was unbelievable. In the classroom science experiments can go wrong but we got some great results.”

Teacher Stephen Lovell said: “The students took the initiative.

“I am very proud of them all and the way they handled the experience of doing something in the real world and problems which need to be solved.”