Competition Dates & Events/Workshops

• We hold fourteen competitions organised through two strands:
  
• These three documents below are (a) information for teachers, (b) summaries of the competitions, (c) a layout to show the sequence of the competitions.
  1. BPhO yearly info letter (Sept 2022-23)
  2. Dates and summary of Competitions 2022-23
  3. BPhO Papers Flow Chart 2022-23

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Round 1 Webinars for Students: Thursday 21^st Sept 2023 weekly until 26^th October

When

• Training for the British Physics Olympiad will start next Thursday (21^st September) looking at the 2021 paper.
  
• It will be a 45 minute online session 8pm till 8:45pm each Thursday evening and will run for 6 weeks.
  

How

• If you would like to attend, fill in the sign up form here; sign up form for Round 1 webinar
  
• You must enter your email correctly! Check it. If it is wrong then you will not receive a link.
  You will then be contacted (by email) by 6pm each Thursday afternoon with a Zoom link.
  
• For maximum impact, download a set of questions from here and print them out. The first session will be on the 2021 paper.
  
• Download and print 1 question per page workbook(s). Work through each question with a calculator and a pen. Try to complete a question fully without using the solutions. If you do need some help, look at the solutions to gain understanding, then try again yourself, without them. Doing the same question multiple times is a very good way to gain confidence.
• Have a go at a few problems before each Thursday, and you'll get even more out of the training sessions. In the past, several pupils have attended the sessions in pairs so they can work together.
  

What and Why

• The main purpose of the Physics Olympiad is to encourage creative problem solving and develop your Physics skills. It is also a competition (Round 1 is in November 2023), which ultimately culminates in selection for the British team in the annual International Physics Olympiad (IPhO).
  
• BPhO preparation will consolidate your IGCSE and A-Level/IB basic knowledge, and help prepare you for University entrance tests and interviews. Round 1 is aimed at Year 13, but Year 12 will get plenty of good experience too.
  

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Competition Dates 2023-24

Oxford Training & Selection Camp: Tuesday 2^nd to Saturday 6^th April 2024

Competition	Year group	delivery	Length of “Paper”	Competition Date
Physics Challenge	Year 13 or below	Competition platform	1 hour	Sept - Dec 2023
Astro Challenge	Year 13 or below	Competition platform	1 hour	Sept - Dec 2023
BPhO Round 1*	Year 13 or below	Competition platform	2 h 40m	Fri 10th Nov 2023
Junior Astro Challenge	Year 10 & Year 11	online competition	2 x 25 min	Fri 3rd - Fri 24th Nov 2023
BAAO Round 1	Year 13 or below	Competition platform	2 hours	Tues 23rd Jan 2024
Senior Physics Challenge Online Competition	Year 12	online competition	2 x 30 min	Mon 22nd - Fri 26th Jan 2024
Intermediate Physics Challenge Online Competition	Year 11	online competition	2 x 30 min	Mon 29th Jan - Fri 2nd Feb 2024
BPhO Round 2	Year 13 or below	Competition platform	3 hours	Mon 5th Feb 2024
BAAO Round 2	Year 13 or below	Competition platform	3 hours	Tues 20th Feb 2024
Intermediate Physics Challenge*	Year 11	Competition platform	1 hour	Friday 1st March 2024
Senior Physics Challenge*	Year 12	Competition platform	1 hour	Friday 8th March 2024
Junior Physics Challenge	Year 10	online competition	2 x 25 min	Fri 26th April - Fri 17th May 2024
(new) Year 7/8 Physics Challenge	Year 7/8	online competition	2 x 25 min	April - May 2024
Experimental Project	Year 12/13 & Year 10/11	Competition platform		June - Dec 2023
Computational Challenge	Year 11/12/13	Competition platform		April - Sept 2023

^* International schools sit these papers after the UK. See the webpage for each competition.

We would encourage you to get your students taking part in the two Year 13 Physics Challenge and Astro Challenge Papers. These can be used as a resource for interesting questions or as a school competition. They introduce problems in physics. The Astro Challenge has a few astronomy multiple choice questions to encourage observation and learning about the night sky, but the majority of the questions are accessible to students studying physics and show interesting applications in a specialised area. Details are given in the front page and the constants page if you go to…

• Astro Challenge introduction (Year 13)