Olympiad Vault track
Physics
Organised by: British Physics Olympiad (BPhO), University of Oxford Department of Physics — www.bpho.org.uk
This track is authored and taught by a vetted specialist tutor (enhanced DBS checked, sample lessons and marking vetted before they teach), recruited and quality controlled by the founder. The founder does not claim expertise in this subject, and this page does not pretend otherwise.
Competitions covered
Physics Challenge and Round 0 (gateways); BPhO Round 1 and Round 2; Intermediate and Senior Physics Challenges; Junior Physics Challenge; the IPhO pathway.
Who can enter
Junior Challenge around Year 10; Intermediate Year 11; Senior Year 12; Rounds and Physics Challenge up to Year 13.
Usual timing
Round 0 usually in October; Round 1 in November; Round 2 in January; Intermediate Challenge in February; Senior Challenge in March; Junior Challenge in April to May.
Levels in this track
Three levels, one route map
Foundation
Mechanics, energy and circuits at challenge standard, with the mathematical fluency BPhO assumes: algebra, trigonometry and estimation.
Challenge
Intermediate and Senior Challenge papers: multi-step problems, graphs and data, longer written answers.
Olympiad
Round 1 and Round 2 preparation: thermodynamics, fields, oscillations and extended problems marked to BPhO style rubrics by the track tutor.