Physics Olympiad Success

Abbey College Cambridge Students have achieved some amazing results in Round 1 of the British Physics Olympiad. This is a national competition and generally has approximately 2,000 entrants.  It is aimed at the most able Year 13 Physics students.  13 Abbey College Cambridge students sat the round one exam in November 2020, which is a challenging exam of almost 3 hours.  The British Physics Olympiad aims to encourage the study of Physics and recognise excellence in young physicists through its competitions.  They are designed to test understanding and problem solving skills.

We are especially delighted to say that 11 of our 13 entrants attained awards, 1 top gold, 3 silver, 2 Bronze I, 5 Bronze II and 2 commendations. To achieve any kind of certificate in this competition is impressive, but a special mention goes to Juan Francisco who has achieved a Top Gold award and is still in Year 12!  An outstanding achievement, which means that he was in the top 100 of the students that took part, and he will now be invited to participate in Round 2.  Juan Francisco has also qualified for the second round of the British Mathematical Olympiad later this month.

Juan Francisco commented that “Maths and Physics are not just numbers and equations; they require a great deal of imagination too.  It is a way to express precise ideas and it is about understanding the universe, something that I feel comes from consistent hard work.  These Olympiads successes makes me happy because it allows me to follow my passion and be determinate towards it.”

Daniel Gabbitas, Teacher of Physics said “I’m very proud of all the Abbey students that tackled the Round 1 BPhO, as although daunting, it shows great spirit and a genuine enthusiasm for Physics that is a joy to oversee. I hope that the successes of our current cohort will inspire the younger years to embrace the Abbey inspires events that help prepare students for these challenges in the future.”