Physics

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 the first year of A level (or equivalent) Year 12 (UK)

SPC Online

• The SPC Online Competition takes place in the last week of January, and is open from Monday 20^th - Friday 24^th January 2025.
• 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 which is accessible to sound students but 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 20^th to Fri 24^th Jan 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 SPC can be downloaded after the competition from the Competition Platform.
• Senior Physics Challenge Online Competition - 10 Sample Questions

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 27^th to Friday 31^st 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 22^nd 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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This information is from the official website: https://www.bpho.org.uk/bpho/JPC.html

• Competition date: can be sat anytime during the dates Friday 25^thApril 2024 - Friday 16^th May 2025 under teacher supervision.
• Length - 2 x 25 minutes (can be sat on different days if required). 30 questions per paper.
• Sat within your school and supervised by the teacher.
• Marked online and results returned to schools with the award boundaries.
• Cost: £20 for a school entry of up to 999 students.
• Prizes: Certificates.
• Details of how to run the competition and the competition itself are on the Competitions Platform
  The questions will be based on an assortment from Dynamics, Electricity, Optics, Heat, Units, small amounts of Astronomy, Waves, to give the main topics. Some questions are done by a process of elimination, some are general knowledge and not classroom physics, and some from the school curriculum. It is a Quiz not an exam.

Please see some sample questions here: Sample Questions

Registering your school: (This is for use by teachers only.) Teachers need to register for the Competitions Platform by going to Teacher registration

When to take the test: The Junior Physics Challenge will take place between Friday 25th April - Friday 16th May 2025. The competition consists of two, 25-minute online tests, each of 30 questions, that can be sat continuously or on two separate occasions. The two sections are taken in school under staff-supervised conditions at any time convenient during the competition dates. A desktop or laptop is needed for this exam. iPads can be used but the system is not optimised for small or touch screens. Calculators, pens and paper should be available.

Prizes: Schools will be able to conduct the Junior Physics Challenge in whatever way best suits their pupils, ensuring that they enjoy participating and have a reasonable expectation of recognition for their achievements. Schools will be encouraged to award their own prizes and to make use of certificates provided for them.

Further details: The Junior Physics Challenge competition is designed to engage and challenge students of all abilities by offering them a range of problems to solve. Although most of the questions are based around the current GCSE curriculum, students will be able to gain more marks if they have a general knowledge in physics as well as taking a keen interest in practical work in lessons. The key aim is that students enjoy taking part and are encouraged to do more physics. They do not need to cover technical topics outside the syllabus, but they might be shown some pictures of famous physicists and asked to identify one (Hawking, Galileo or Newton for example). Some general knowledge and everyday interest in physics would be an advantage. The purpose is to be fun for the student and to be inclusive rather than discriminating between very able candidates.

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