A HAMMERSMITH schoolgirl has been named young scientist of year after being put through her paces at the Royal Institution.

Susanah Rodriguez, 15, a student at St Paul's Girls School in Brook Green, was up against 15 other bright sparks vying for the title at the national competition organised by the Institution and L'Oreal.

The finalists were invited to the headquarters of Britain's oldest research laboratory, in Mayfair, earlier this month for a workshop to learn more about famed English scientist Michael Farraday and his work on electromagnetism which included inspecting his first electric motor and notebook detailing his experiments.

The students were then asked to build and test three different types of electric motors to understand the application of electricity.

Susanah and fellow student Simon Bale, from Bedford came out top and were named the Royal Institution's L’Oréal Young Scientists of the Year.

She said: "It was such an honour to learn about Faraday, especially in the birthplace of the electric motor.

"I had great fun on the day competing alongside equally talented students who are as passionate about science as I am; to be crowned Royal Institution’s L’Oréal Young Scientist of the Year was the icing on the cake."