Senior Physics Challenge (Y12)

There are two competitions at this level. One is an online quiz, whilst the paper competition has questions that provide more of a student challenge.
They are aimed at the first year of A level (or equivalent) Year 12 (UK)

1. Senior Physics Challenge Online

• The SPC Online Competition takes place in the last week of January, and is open from Monday 22^nd - Friday 26^th January 2024.
• It consists of two 30-minute sets of multiple choice questions which are largely about physics ideas, but also encouraging some wider reading and interest in the subject. It is an opportunity for students to take part in a national physics competition and to develop their confidence in the subject. It is definitely a quiz which is accessible to sound students but not an ''Olympiad Challenge''.
• Length - 2 x 30 minutes (can be sat on different days if required) with each section containing 25 questions.
• Sat within your school supervised by the teacher. It may not be sat by students at home.
• Competition date: can be sat anytime during the week Monday 22^nd to Fri 26^th Jan 2024 under teacher supervision.
• Marked online and grade boundaries then made available to schools.
• Full details, instructions and the competition itself are available through the Competitions Platform.
  Cost: £20 for a school entry of up to 999 students
  Prizes: Certificates
• The Report on the SPC can be downloaded after the competition from the Competitions Platform.

  Senior Physics Challenge Online Competition - 10 Sample Questions

2. Senior Physics Challenge Competition (on paper)

• This is our traditional problem based set of questions. This is not only for students who have done some preparation, but for all those who like to engage in problem solving questions and developing those skills. The best preparation is through working through some past papers which available here on this website.
• Competition date: Friday 8^th March 2024
  (International schools: Monday 11^th March - the paper is downloadable on Saturday 9^th)
• Length - 1 hour
• Sat within your school
• Marked within schools - a detailed and easy to use Mark Scheme is provided
  
• Papers are downloaded by registered teachers from the Competitions Platform.
  Teachers must be registered for the Platform
• Cost: free
• Prizes: Certificates
• Papers returned? ONLY the Gold Award papers are to be uploaded to the BPhO by Friday 29^th March
• All competition details, instructions, results and the paper itself are to be found on the Competitions Platform

Purpose

The Senior Physics Challenge for Year 12 students is an exciting opportunity for students to stretch their problem solving skills and apply fundamental physical principles to novel situations. Over 6000 students take part in the competition each year.
The SPC Challenge is a single, one-hour paper that provides an excellent tool to assess and challenge students’ ability to work at a high level in Key Stage 5 and beyond. It consists of several short questions followed by one or two longer questions that test only core subject knowledge and application. Little knowledge of new Year 12 topics is required, whilst the style of questions is more advanced than students will generally be acquainted with. The study of four past papers is recommended in order to ensure that students are prepared for the challenge.

Teachers may use questions from past papers in their regular teaching, and are encouraged to do so.