Physics
Physics is the study of the most fundamental aspects of the world and universe in which we live, it forms the foundations upon which every other science is ultimately built.
Students follow the OCR B A Level Physics course endorsed by the Institute of Physics. Many students go on to higher education to study Engineering and Physics amongst a wide range of other disciplines. Taught simultaneously by a pair of Physics teachers, students experience two strands of the course at once.
Fundamental aspects of Physics that underpin later study are covered in the Lower Sixth with many areas that overlap significantly with IGCSE Physics. This enables the students to make an easier transition to A Level Physics.
Entry Requirements
Grade 7 in Physics, or 7/7 in dual award Science.
Physics requires a problem-solving approach and a good level of mathematical ability. Students will commonly take Mathematics A Level concurrently. However, this is not essential. We would expect students undertaking Physics A Level to obtain a minimum grade 7 in GCSE Physics or Combined Sciences.
Topics Covered
Over the two year course, students will study the following:
Year 1 - Physics in action and Understanding Processes
During the first year, students study the fundamental aspects of Physics, some of which follow directly from GCSE Physics, with areas that overlap significantly. The Lower Sixth course also includes new areas of study including Quantum Physics. Students will recognise links with these exciting new areas and their previous studies of areas such as waves at GCSE level.
In Lower Sixth, students will also learn how to model the motion of objects according to Newton’s laws, a skill that could be applied to areas as diverse as computer game design to climate study.
At the end of year one students will have the opportunity to go to CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, to tour the facilities of the world’s largest particle physics laboratories.
Year 2 - Rise and Fall of the Clockwork Universe and Field and Particle Physics
As students progress to the second year of Physics A Level they encounter some of the ground-breaking work done by the some of the world’s most famous scientists. Newton’s Universal Law of gravitation is covered in detail, and Einstein’s work on special relativity is covered including counter-intuitive consequences such as time dilation.
Other topics covered include the fascinating world of electro-magnetism, radioactivity and particle physics, illustrating how successive models have been refined over the past 120 years to give us the understanding we have today. Throughout Upper Sixth, students learn how to model physical phenomena using simple mathematical models, skills which could be applied to areas as diverse as finance and predicting the spread of disease.
Methods of Assessment
Paper 1 - Fundamentals of Physics
2 hours 15 minutes - 41%
Paper 2 - Scientific Literacy in Physics
2 hours 15 minutes - 37%
Paper 3 - Practical Skills in Physics
1 hour 30 minutes - 22%
Practical Endorsement in Physics (non-exam assessment) reported separately.
Enrichment Opportunities
• Lunar Society - The sixth form’s scientific society for students to give and receive talks on areas of science they have a particular interest in.
• Electronics club - Learn some basic skills in electronics and soldering.
• CERN trip - Every year we take a group of sixth form Physicists to Switzerland to visit the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Geneva.
• British Physics Olympiad competition - Competitions take place for both L6 and U6 students in Spring and Autumn terms respectively.
• Physics Brawl - An online competition in which teams take on increasingly difficult Physics problems..
Meet the Staff
If you have a specific enquiry for the Physics Department, email physics@kes.hants.sch.uk
| Mr. R.S. Simm | Head of Physics |
| Mrs. P.E. Burrows BSc | Physics, Assistant Head (Teacher Development & Pedagogy) |
| Mr J Ferguson | Teacher of Physics |
| Mr. D.M. Lawson MA | Teacher of Physics |
| Mrs. M. Mahdavi BSc, MSc, MinstP | Teacher of Physics |
| Dr, M.K. Mayor BSc, PhD | Teacher of Physics (Junior Science Co-ordinator) |
| Ms. C.A. Ribas de Oliveira BSc, MSc | Teacher of Physics |
