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Physics Noticeboard GCSE Physics Challenge &
AS Physics Competition Results Congratulations to the following students, who all obtained Bronze awards in the GCSE Physics Challenge, part of the British Physics Olympiad:
Also, congratulations to the following students, who all obtained Bronze awards in the AS Physics Competition, also part of the British Physics Olympiad:
A2 Trip to Particle
Physics Masterclass Fourteen A Level Physicists, accompanied by Mr Campbell and Mr Walker, attended a Particle Physics Masterclass at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire. The day consisted of talks and lectures on particle physics, accelerators and applications, and the students were able to take part in a computer practical to analyse particle collision data to hunt for the Higgs Boson. The students were also give a tour of the Diamond Light Source synchrotron.
AS Trip to Southampton
University Geophysics Department Twenty nine AS Level Physicists, accompanied by Mr Campbell and Mr Walker, visited the Southampton University Geophysics Department within the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton for a talk by Prof. Jon Bull on Geophysical surveying techniques. The day was part of the coursework requirements for Unit 3 of their AS. The students were also given a tour of NOCS and were able to take part in an electrical resistivity survey, and were shown how to interpret and analyse the acquired data.
CERN-sational! Twenty A Level Physicists, accompanied by Mr Campbell, Mr Raftery, Mr Williams and Mr Walker, returned from Geneva, Switzerland yesterday. The students visited CERN - the home of the Large Hadron Collider, the largest experiment in the world. The students had a tour of CERN, visiting above-ground experimental facilities, and explored the Microcosm museum and an excellent exhibition on superconductivity in the Globe. During the four day trip, the group also visited the United Nations Palais des Nations and saw other attractions such as Lake Geneva, the Jet d'Eau and the cathedral and old town. The CERN trip was a new venture this year for the Physics Department. As it has proved to be highly successful and popular it is hoped to repeat it again with the A Level Physicists next year.
British Physics Olympiad
Results Congratulations to Charles Duffin, who obtained a Bronze II award in the British Physics Olympiad. Peter Edwards, Michael Rix and Henry Wildey also obtained a Commendation award. The awards will be presented in full school assembly. Dates for your diary!
Thank you PTA! The Salesian College PTA have recently generously bought over £4,000 of Physics equipment for the department. A new class set of light gates and Motion QED data-loggers allows students to gain first-hand experience of using ICT to collect data, which is an essential part of GCSE and A Level studies. A new class set of continuously-variable voltage power supplies allows more students to carry out current electricity practical work. Also, a beautiful new linear air track, blower and accessories allows demonstration of friction-free motion for kinematic and dynamic studies. It would have been impossible for the Physics department to have bought the equipment without the support of the PTA. On behalf of the Physics staff and students, a sincere thank you!
British Physics Olympiad Well done to Charles Duffin, Peter Edwards, Michael Rix and Henry Wildey, who all passed Paper 1 of the British Physics Olympiad today. They will now progress to complete Paper 2 on Friday 7 November to try for a commendation, bronze, silver or even gold award in the Olympiad. Good luck! All the upper sixth Physicists took part in the first paper and deserve congratulations for their perseverance and efforts. The Olympiad is very challenging and is far more difficult than an A Level exam. The lower sixth and Year 11 students will have the opportunity to complete the AS Competition and GCSE Challenge in March. Mastering Physics The lower sixth Physicists this year are completing homework private study assignments in a whole new way! The Physics Department is using www.masteringphysics.com for students to complete assignments online. This has many advantages - students can access hints to help them solve the problems and they are given instant feedback when they submit their answers. There are also some very challenging questions to stretch the able students. So far the initial response from students has been positive and they are busy working on the introductory assignments. Top of the Form Competition Joseph Barker, Jack Cafferkey, Michael Marron, Joshua Pallett and Alex Rhodes (and team mascot Bosco the Bear!) were selected to represent Salesian College in the inaugural annual "Top of the Form" competition, run by BAE Systems and Rushmoor Borough Council at Farnborough Aerospace Centre, on 2 October 2008. The five boys were chosen from a selection process of quizzes and lunchtime coaching sessions led by Mr Williams, Mr Campbell and Upper Sixth Formers Conrad Goodwin, Alex Knowles, Madhurika Jeyam and Caroline Norris. The competition was centred around science and engineering, and the team had to answer questions in a "University Challenge" style round, as well as attempt Quick Fire questions, picture rounds and Countdown-style number rounds. They also had to complete a practical, where the team successfully built a container to protect an egg falling from 2 metres. The Quizmaster was BBC Southern Counties Radio DJ, and Salesian old-boy, Fred Marden. However the team were up against a very strong side from Cove School, who were exceptionally fast on the buzzer leading them to victory. The boys were very disappointed that their reaction-times were not quick enough! Well done to the boys for taking part, who accepted defeat admirably. Mr Williams (who was once on the original Top of the Form programme) and Mr Campbell are determined to enter a team and are hoping for better luck next year.
GCSE & A Level Results Congratulations to last year's Year 10 Physics students who sat their P1 module and have achieved excellent results. Of particular merit, 17 students attained full marks in P1A and 5 attained full marks in P1B. Well done to Thomas Dodington, George Keenan, Luke Storrie and Christopher Price who obtained fill marks in both papers! 97% attained A* to C grades in P1A and 94% achieved A* to C grades in P1B. Congratulations to last year's Year 11 Physics students. An amazing 20 students attained an A* and a further 26 attained an A grade. Particular credit should go to Amrit Sagoo, Dominic Hayes, Timothy Gibbons, Simon Hinton and William O'Donovan who all attained over 97% overall and are truly worthy of an A** grade if one existed! A staggering 96% attained A* to C grades. This is the best pass rate in recent years and is an amazing achievement considering Physics is the most popular Science option choice at Salesian College. Well done once again. Congratulations to our AS Physics students. 5 students attained an A grade, including Charles Duffin who has achieved an amazing 97% in his AS overall. 65% attained A to C grades. Physics was the most popular AS subject this year which is quite a feat during a time of national decline in students choosing to study Physics. And finally, congratulations to our A-Level Physics students. 3 students attained an A grade. 67% attained A to C grades. We wish them all well with their university studies, but particularly David Clarke who will read Physics at Clare College Oxford, and Robert Nightingale who has been accepted to read Physics at Bath. Changes to FIZIX.info During May and June, FIZIX.info received nearly 3000 visits and over 3Gb of files were downloaded! However, much of the web-traffic is not from Salesian College students so a decision was taken to increase security measures on the website. From today, when you click on a secure file in Resources or Revision, you will be asked to enter a username and password. Your Physics teacher can tell these, or you can email Mr Campbell giving your name and form. Archive Noticeboard Last year's notice board has been archived, but can still be accessed by clicking the link below:
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