Lower Sixth Formers Reuben Glenville and Alex Aellen recently achieved gold awards in the British Physics Olympiad (BPhO) Senior Challenge, placing them in the top 15 percent of around 5,300 students taking part from nearly 400 schools from around the world.
This year saw a record number of pupils from Bedford School step up to the challenge with 32 taking part. Due to COVID restrictions, the boys were required to take on the challenge online and tackle the 40-question paper which increased in difficulty as they progressed through the questions. The boys performed brilliantly; in addition to the two gold certificates won, 11 boys achieved silver awards for their efforts.
The competition is an opportunity for students to stretch their problem-solving skills and apply fundamental physical principles to novel situations, and is designed to assess and challenge students’ ability to work at a high level.
Head of Physics Dr Palmer said, “The gold awards achieved by Reuben and Alex were a fantastic achievement and demonstrated very high level problem solving skills as well as broad knowledge of Sixth Form physics. I hope all boys who entered enjoyed the challenge. The next steps will be the BPhO Olympiad competition in the Upper Sixth.”
Certificates awarded:
|
Reuben Glenville |
Gold |
|
Alex Aellen |
Gold |
|
Will M |
Silver |
|
Peter Moore |
Silver |
|
Sebastian Peacock |
Silver |
|
James Deardon |
Silver |
|
Dell Kang |
Silver |
|
Will Turner |
Silver |
|
Jonah Whiteman |
Silver |
|
Ciaran Kilbane |
Silver |
|
Anish Katechia |
Silver |
|
Maxwell Martin |
Silver |
|
Marcus Chien |
Silver |