Two A Level Physics students from Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College (QE), Darlington, have won silver awards in a prestigious Physics competition. The British Physics Olympiad’s Senior Physics Challenge seeks to allow students to participate in a national competition and develop their confidence in the subject, and both Shrish Nair and Caspar Clyde have secured second place in what Brian Wardle, Course Leader for A Level Physics at QE, describes as an ‘extremely demanding’ contest. The esteemed competition, sat in College, also provides an opportunity to apply the Physics taught in lessons to real-life situations with Shrish explaining: ‘I thought the challenge would be a great way to use the Physics I’ve learnt in class to solve some difficult problems. I’ve learnt a lot through the process’.
Caspar echoes Shrish’s thoughts about the toughness of the contest, adding: ‘It was a really difficult competition. But it taught me about perseverance and how to approach problems differently’. Reflecting on the challenge, Brian concludes: ‘I am very proud of our students’ excellent efforts. They have done incredibly well to come away with silver awards and I hope others are encouraged to enter in future and put their knowledge to the test’.