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STEM 3
AS British Physics
Challenge
Alex Yan, L6W
In the AS Physics Challenge, nine Lower
Sixth pupils scored highly enough to
gain Bronze, Silver or Gold certificates.
The paper, written by the British
Physics Olympiad (BPhO) and sat
in March this year, tests problem-solving skills and
encourages students to apply their understanding of physical
concepts to real-world uses and unfamiliar contexts.
As one of the six overall highest-scoring entrants for the Challenge, I
was invited to BPhO’s Presentation Afternoon at the Royal Society. Being
surrounded by so many incredibly bright students and physicists in the
building of such a historic society was, admittedly, quite daunting; it was also
a real privilege. The event started with a buffet lunch, followed by a prize-
giving ceremony recognising students for a range of achievements, including
those who went to the International Physics Olympiad representing the UK.
Finally there was a lecture about a fascinating new solar cell technology. I
enjoyed meeting some of the other students there and thoroughly enjoyed
the afternoon!
Huge thanks go to Mr Busch, who helped the Lower Sixth to prepare for the
Challenge, and Mr Prole, who accompanied me to the Presentation Afternoon.
UKMT Junior
Team Maths
Challenge
Shanuga Rubaraj, RE
On Tuesday 5 March, the Bancroft’s team
of Shivan Aggarwal, Zaki Lodhi (both L4),
Anika Vijay and me (Removes) took part in
the regional heats of the UKMT Junior Team
Maths Challenge held at Bancroft’s. We faced
a large, competitive and strong field of twenty-
nine other schools, including King Edward’s
Grammar School who beat us last year. We
were determined to finish in first place and go
through to the Nationals.
The Challenge consists of four rounds: the group round
where the teamworks together; the cross-number where
the teamworks in pairs using clues to find the answers;
the shuttle where we pass our answers back and forth and
finally, the relay where we run across the room to pass on the
next question. We had an extremely strong start only losing
a couple of points in each round and by lunchtime it was
announced that we were in the top five schools.
After lunch, we carried on to take part in the final two
rounds. We secured a great score in the shuttle and
were preparing ourselves to compete in the relay round.
We tirelessly managed to answer thirteen out of fifteen
questions which resulted in us standing a good chance of
winning. When the results were finally announced, we
were elated to find that we were the regional champions
and we would go on to compete in the national finals
in June. I am really looking forward to the competition
which will be held in central London. On behalf of the
Bancroft’s team, I would like to thank Mr Tse for preparing
us for this great opportunity and the UKMT for organising
this event.
Intermediate Maths
Olympiad Successes
Mathematicians from the L4 to Fifth Form joined in with
thousands of other mathematicians in competing in the
Intermediate Mathematical Challenge (IMC). Nationally,
over 200,000 students for each year group (years 9 to 11)
take part in the IMC from around 4,000 schools. From
this entry, roughly 1,500 of the top scorers (around the
top 1%) are entered into the prestigious Olympiad round,
and a further 8,000 students are entered into the second-
tier Kangaroo round. These follow-on rounds of the
Intermediate Mathematical Challenge (IMC) took place on
21 March.
In the Kangaroo papers, seven Bancroftians scored highly enough to achieve
a merit certificate, representing an effort in the top 25% of all entrants.
Congratulations go to Ben Hughes (5S), Aarian Judge (U4W), Avneet Sapal
(L4N) for being Bancroft’s top scorers in their respective papers.
In the Olympiad papers, Bancroft’s students brought record success. In these
papers the top 25% of entrants receive a distinction certificate and the next
25% received a merit certificate. Seven Bancroft’s students received a merit;
three - Shivan Aggarwal (l4S), Zaki Lodhi (L4S) and Nathan Tan (L4S) - received
distinction certificates. All three
receive medals for scoring in
the top 100 of all Olympians
taking the Cayley (year 9)
paper, representing a very high
level of attainment.
Well done to all our
participants this year, and we
trust that it was a valuable
and enriching experience for
everybody who took part.