Physics

Departmental Staff

P A Saunders, BEng (Southampton) Head of Physics
Mrs M A Collins, BEng (Bristol) Senior Deputy Head
Miss G Cooper, BSc (Exeter)
Mrs S M Garcia, BSc, BEd (Ontario, Queen’s, Kingston)
Mrs D Pricopie, BA, BSc (Romania)
A G Reid, BSc (London) Extended Project Co-ordinator
E Stonard Technician

Science at RGS

The sciences are amongst the most popular and successful subjects at Reigate Grammar School.  All students study Biology, Physics and Chemistry up to the end of the Fifth Form (Year 11) and large numbers continue at least one of these to AS and A2 level. The sciences are also well represented in the courses students choose to follow at university: last year nearly a quarter of our Upper Sixth leavers went on to study the sciences, engineering and medicine.

All pupils in the First and Second Forms (Years 7 and 8) are taught general science using ‘Thinking Science’ material with an emphasis on the acquisition of relevant skills.  In the Third Form, each of the three sciences are taught by a subject specialist. In the Upper School we follow the EdExcel International GCSE (IGCSE) course, and pupils may choose either to study all three sciences as separate subjects or to opt for the Dual Award course.  In both cases, they will be taught by specialists for each subject. All three sciences are available at A-level, either together or in combination with a wide range of other subjects.

Physics at RGS

There are currently five sets studying Physics as a separate science in Year 10 and four sets in year 11.  Last year’s results were excellent with 84% achieving A*/A. There are three sets in each year of A-level study. We are following the WJEC specification which has been very popular with pupils and teachers for its breadth, depth and dynamism.  Results in recent years have been outstanding: last year 100% received A*-B grades with 25% achieving an A*. Furthermore, pupils regularly achieve awards in the BPhO competitions. The department also offers Electronics at AS level. Many students go on to study related subjects at university and we have had particular success with applications for Physics and Engineering.

For a summary of the course please click here.

Examination Boards

IGCSE: Edexcel IGCSE Physics
A-level: WJEC A-Level GCE Physics

Examination Results: Physics

For Double Award results, see the Biology page.

Departmental activities 2010-11

This year a team of four students working as part of the Engineering Education Scheme worked on a project for BP to investigate erosion in metal piping. This year’s team produced one of the best reports in recent year’s which was scored very highly by the scheme’s assessors.

Outside of the confines of the A-Level syllabus the Physics Olympiad tested the mettle of some of our brightest and best students. Andrew Buchan received a gold award, placing him in the top 6% of the entrants in the country. Sid Gandhi received a silver award and Will Sargent a bronze. The Physics AS Challenge paper is aimed at 6th form pupils and this year saw one of our biggest cohorts. Of our 12 entrants we had 7 silvers and 2 bronzes with Daniel Thrope just missing out on a gold.

During the 4th Form Science morning, members of the 4th form tackled to tricky problem of slowing an egg down without breaking it. The egg drop is a classic build and test task and our version saw some interesting uses of the available equipment, including a team which chose to build a net to catch the egg rather than protect the egg directly. Had the egg landed in the net I’m sure it would have survived; alas, the target was quite small and the aim slightly wayward. Our evening trips to Surrey University continued this year with record attendance. We managed to take and nearly fill 2 minibuses to each of the talks. The topics ranged from the dangers of radiation, the myriad of everyday uses for lasers and Europe’s newest and largest radio telescope. The talks were organised by the Institute of Physics and helped to highlight the diverse areas of study available for those who enjoy the subject.