Science-savvy pupils ace physics test
A GROUP of young physicists from Ockbrook School has achieved a 100 per cent pass rate at the British Physics Olympiad – Intermediate Physics Challenge.
British Physics Olympiad aims to encourage the study of physics and recognises excellence in young physicists through its annual competitions. The Year 11 pupils from the Derbyshire independent school competed alongside 4,710 students from 204 schools across the UK.
Ockbrook School’s results were above the national average, with 100 per cent of the students achieving gold or silver awards.
Neal Gupta, head of physics at the school, said: “This is the first time Ockbrook School has entered pupils for this competition. It’s a great way of benchmarking how our pupils are progressing in their studies and comprehension of sometimes quite complex scientific concepts.
“The multiple-choice competition looked for quick thinking and fluency in a range of topic areas. There were a number of puzzle-like questions which required students to do small manipulations at speed.
“There were 40 questions to tackle in one hour and this was a considerable challenge to our students, which they met with huge enthusiasm.”
Gold award winners included 16-year-old Ben King, Zoran Morrissey-Ralevic, 16, and Ben Smyth, 16.
The silver award winners were Kian Pourkomailian, 16, Annissa Wiltshire, 15, Mena Lamell, 15, Ciara O’Brien, 15, and Louis Blount, 16.
The Intermediate Physics Challenge for Year 11 students includes multiple-choice and short answer sections that aim to test students’ knowledge and understanding of basic physics principles. For more details, visit www.bpho.org.uk