Taking part matters

Abstract

For a week last July, the University of Leicester played host to the 31st International Physics Olympiad. Sixty-three countries sent teams of five students, accompanied by two Leaders who were professors or teachers. The students faced two five-hour exams, one theory and one practical, woven into a week of visits and fun.The International Physics Olympiad has been held since 1967. The idea originated at a conference of the Czechoslovak Physical Society in Prague and the first competition was in Warsaw with teams from Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania participating. The competition has grown in size and scope over the decades, and in 1991 it was awarded the medal of the International Commission on Physics Education. The citation reads `the International Physics Olympiad has become an achievement of world wide impact, and physics educators from various countries around the world have attested to the strong influence it has had in stimulating interests in physics among both students and teachers in their countries'.The British Physics Olympiad team was chosen from Year 13 students who had come through the selection procedure. Schools are invited to challenge their best pupils with a preliminary paper, sat and marked at school. Students gaining above a given threshold are encouraged to sit a second, three-hour paper, which is centrally marked and graded. From among the Gold-medal winners in this exam, the team of five is selected. Amid the pressures of A-levels, some practical and theory tuition is fitted in before the competition.The different countries use a variety of selection methods and coaching. The Australians managed a week of scientific and cultural education in Vienna prior to arriving at Leicester, and several teams talked of pre-competition work-camps. How much Physics can be crammed into a week? Countries that have institutions selecting pupils highly gifted in Maths and Science have a great start, as do those with the most demanding syllabuses for pre-university exams.In years gone by, some of our most gifted students happened to be taught by some of our most able teachers, and together they tackled the old Scholarship-level papers. The old O-level work gave students a solid grounding in classical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, with lots of sums on which to anchor the concepts. Those who enjoyed this aspect of the science could launch into A-level studies of Maths, Physics, Chemistry and/or Further Maths, and relish the challenges hidden in the syllabuses.Advanced level aims have changed. Mathematical elements have been played down; traditional proofs and applications may be referred to but are no longer required learning for the candidates. The modular system allows less repetitive revision and consolidation of ideas so that students are not required to immerse themselves in the subject in the same way as a generation ago.Does this matter? The `new way' hopes to attract some students into Physics and Engineering who would have been intimidated by the rigour and commitment required to do well in the old system. The single-minded student has a wealth of information available to further his or her studies and will not be limited by the dictates of any syllabus. However, without the need to meet exam requirements, many of our most able students have been deprived of the pleasure of advancing their knowledge so far at school, and must wait for a degree course to take up the story. (We should worry if many of these potential scientists get deflected from Physics.)The change in A-level targets inevitably means that the UK is slipping down the IPhO medal table, but in the Olympic tradition it is the taking part that matters. The 31st Olympiad was won by the People's Republic of China, with five gold medals out of five. Heartiest congratulations to them and to Russia, who came second with two gold, two silver and a bronze. The other gold medals went to Hungary (2), India (2), Taiwan (2), Bulgaria (1) and Switzerland (1). The UK team won two bronze medals. Who will be lucky enough to go to IPhO 2001, to be held in Turkey next summer, and will the teams include more than 13 girls?All the very able young people gathered in Leicester had a wealth of experiences beyond Physics. Friendships made may last a lifetime and, funding permitting, the UK may be lucky enough to welcome some of them back as students or graduate students.For further information on IPhO see: www.star.le.ac.uk/IPhO-2000or contact Dr C Isenberg at Physics Laboratory, University of Kent at Canterbury, Canterbury CT2 7NR(e-mail C.Isenberg@ukc.ac.uk).