There are two competitions at this level. One is an online quiz, whilst the paper competition has questions that provide more of a student challenge.
They are aimed at Year 11 (UK). Younger students may enter but not older.
1. IPC Online
- It consists of two 30 minute sets of multiple choice questions which are largely about physics ideas, but also encouraging some wider reading and interest in the subject. It is an opportunity for students to take part in a national physics competition and to develop their confidence in the subject. It is definitely a quiz for participation, which is accessible to sound students but is not an ''Olympiad Challenge''.
- Length - 2 x 30 minutes (can be sat on different days if required) with each section containing 20 questions.
- Sat within your school supervised by the teacher. It may not be sat by students at home.
- Competition date: can be sat anytime during the week Monday 27th to Friday 31st January 2025 under teacher supervision.
- Marked online and grade boundaries then made available to schools.
- Full details, instructions and the competition itself are available through the Competition Platform.
Cost: £20 for a school entry of up to 999 students
Prizes: Certificates - The Report on the IPC can be downloaded after the competition from the Competition Platform.
- IPC Online competition 10 Sample Questions
2. Intermediate Physics Challenge (on paper)
This is the traditional paper based problem solving competition. This is not only for the very top students, but for all those who like to engage in problem solving questions and developing those skills. The best preparation is through working through some IPC past papers.
- Length - 1 hour
- Sat within your school
- Marked within schools - a detailed and easy to use Mark Scheme is provided
- Papers are downloaded by registered teachers from the Competitions Platform. Teachers must be registered for the Platform
- Cost: free
- Prizes: Certificates
- Papers returned? ONLY the scanned Gold Award papers are to be uploaded to the BPhO by Friday 22nd March
- All competition details, instructions and the competition paper itself are to be found on the Competition Platform
Purpose
This is a single, one-hour paper that is suitable for Year 11 students (GCSE, Standard Grade or equivalent level). The paper includes multiple-choice and short answer sections that aim to test students’ knowledge and understanding of basic physics principles. The paper is suitable for students who have studied GCSE Science + Additional Science or GCSE Physics or equivalent.
Over 6000 students take part in the competition each year.
Necessary preparation should be by students (not the teacher) working through about four past papers. The teacher may faciltate this but is not expected to teach students how to do all the questions.
Teachers may use questions from past papers in their regular teaching, and are encouraged to do so.
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