Bright, young physicists from Oswestry School entered the British Physics Olympiad Challenge and achieved some outstanding results.
These highly demanding tests, set by Oxford University, are designed to separate out A* candidates by stretching and challenging even the most gifted. The AS Challenge is an exciting opportunity for students to stretch their lateral thinking skills and apply fundamental physical principles to novel situations. Star pupil, Max Clarke, who received a Gold Award in last year’s GCSE paper, excelled in the AS Challenge by again achieving a Gold Award putting him in the top 100 students in the country. In the same paper Roly Hancock received a Silver Award while Teodora Nănescu and Adelina Crecian each won Commendations.
The GCSE Challenge is based upon GCSE knowledge, but applied to unfamiliar contexts, these feel more like AS Level papers than GCSE. Preparation involved some tutorials and past paper practice to limber up the mental muscles. Bronze Awards were given to Sean Wu and Jacob Tidridge while Commendations were awarded to Róisín Gambroudes, Aarifa Khanom, Tony Cui, Ananya Prashanth and Rufus Colbeck-Hayes.