Excellent results in the British Physics Olympiad

A huge congratulations to our Upper Sixth Physics students for achieving excellent results in the 2020/21 British Physics Olympiad.

With over 1,606 most-able students from 270 schools participating, the result placed one of our students in the top 6% nationally and four others in the top 30%.

The British Physics Olympiad is an incredibly demanding paper created to challenge a range of student knowledge, preparation and ability, allowing access for good students, whilst also aiming at stretching and challenging the top young physicists in the country in a national competition. Every question requires a different perspective to get the measure of it. This fluency in recognising topics and linking ideas is, in part, what develops the physicist’s confidence and mastery. These really are about particular skills, which must be developed over time.

Truro School Head of Physics, Adam Laity commented, “These results are excellent. The British Physics Olympiad Round 1 is a very demanding paper and our students have done exceptionally well to have achieved these results – we have never had so many silver medals – and for Benji to have achieved a Top Gold medal is an enormous achievement – congratulations.”

Students who achieved a ‘Top Gold’ award will be invited to participate in BPhO Round 2, the next round in the British Physics Olympiad competition, and also the BAAO Olympiad. Benji was awarded a Top Gold medal, Henry, Alisdair, Louis and Issac were awarded Silver Medals and Kushal an equally impressive Bronze II Medal.

Past papers and information about other BPhO competitions can be found online: