A group of schoolchildren claim they have discovered the secret to making the perfect boiled egg with soldiers.
The schoolgirls, from Sherborne Girls School, Dorset, took part in an experiment to find out the optimum time to cook the nation's favourite breakfast - and the ideal ingredients used to make it.
They discovered the perfect egg takes six minutes to boil - and that Delia Smith was right all along.
The experiment was led by Professor Hal Sosabowski, a chemistry lecturer at Brighton University, and was commissioned by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Sosabowski described the experiment as a "serious scientific inquiry" saying he considered the pupils as true members of the scientific community.
"We've had a brilliant day of real scientific inquiry", he added. "I was particularly impressed by the pupils' diligence in generating results and scrutinising their own experimental design to eliminate variables and error."
The team of 12 eggheads also found white bread makes more effective soldiers, margarine makes stronger soldiers than butter and the perfect solider width is 1.5cm.
Sixth-form student Rosanna Younger, 17, who attends the independent boarding school, said: "We kept the experiment simple, focusing on one aspect of boiled eggs and soldiers.
"I love butter on my toast but I might just have to swap over to margarine in future to ensure strong soldiers!"
Sosabowski concluded “You might say they were ‘eggscellent’.”
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