Once again, Wellington School have picked up more than their fair share of medals in the British Physics Olympiad Experimental Project, winning 3 Bronze medals and an amazing 20 Certificates. The National Physics competition is run by the University of Oxford. Students from schools around the country were set a problem which they had to solve practically and write up their results. The problem this year was all about measuring the elastic properties of wood. Pupils needed to be able to work out how much wood might bend when it supports a load, which is useful for architectural and other wooden structures.
“The British Physics Olympiad Experimental Project is designed to really test students’ practical technique” commented Alasdair Shaw, Physics teacher at Wellington School. “They have to solve problems and produce the most accurate and precise results that they can. The key thing is communicating their work through the write-up which is marked at the University of Oxford.”
The entrants were pupils from Year 10, 11 and 13, and Bronze Medals were awarded to Lydia Buckingham. Harry Rixon and Guy Steele-Perkins. Certificates went to Reece Thomas, Peter Darby, Edison Wang, Ellie Hilton, Phoebe Crossing, Sam Aird, Kester Griffiths, Jenny Katte, Genevieve Huntley, Chloe Ma, Ella Pepperell, Amber Wardell, Catherine Parsons, Daniel Chilott, Harry Mear, Ethan Williams, James Dingle, Jacob Grudsky, Maria Wall, Amy Green
“Completing the project requires determination and hard work in their own time. This has been the best set of results we’ve had and it is a testament to the students’ scientific abilities,” concluded Alasdair Shaw.