Two Year 7 students at Fairfield High School have amazed classmates and staff  by learning the periodic table off by heart.

The pair, Saule Zemgulyte and Matty Wangermann, decided to embark on the task after they started learning about chemistry.

Saule’s feat is even more remarkable as she has memorised it in her second language of English – she is from Lithuania.

Teacher Adam Hickey said: “I have never in my career met any student, let alone a couple of Year 7s, who had the desire to learn the periodic table.

“These two decided on their own to go and learn the whole thing from start to finish.

“While there are some YouTube clips of celebrities reciting the table in a haphazard way, doing it in the correct order enables the students to know about the number of subatomic particles in the nucleus,  which is critical in knowing everything else about the element.”

Principal Cat Mangham said: “This is a brilliant achievement. I’m sure these students will go on to have great success in science and other STEM subjects. I hope their initiative will inspire other students to challenge themselves too.”