A2 level students, or equivalent level students can participate in the British Physics Olympiad. There are four rounds in the competition to select five students to compete in the annual International Physics Olympiad (IPhO).
The Round 1 paper of the British Physics Olympiad is mailed to all schools in Uk early in September every year. Teachers are provided with complete solutions and a marking scheme for this paper which is is based on the national curriculum.
The students who score well in this paper are encouraged to enter Round 2. This more challenging paper is marked at Olympiad Headquarters. There is an entry fee. Some 1,000 students tackle this paper.More than 300 book prizes are awarded to students who excel in this Round 2 paper.
Fifty of the highest scoring students in Round 2 qualify for Round 3. Students receive tuition by correspondence is provided for the Round 3 paper. Fifteen of the highest scoring students in Round 3 of the physics competition, the finalists, are invited to the three-day training camp.
At the training camp, they take the Round 4 papers, an experimental examination paper and a further theoretical paper. Finally five students will be chosen to represent Britain at the International Physics Olympiad in July.