The Lower Sixth Physics set travelled via Eurostar and onto the delightful Chateau DHallines in Northern France on Thursday evening.
The group were accompanied by Mr Ward, Mr Peters, Ms Blazewicz and guests Dr Chloe Tartan and Eva Gimpel Oxinalde. The study weekend was packed full of practical tasks, Physics extension topics and competitions.
The first task on Thursday morning was to design, build and test a hydraulic lift and backhoe truck. Mr Peters and Dr Tartan judged the competition with real tenacity. Dr Tartan has recently completed her Ph.D. in Engineering from Oxford University along with a B.Sc. in Physics at Imperial and a M.Sc. from UCL and Cambridge universities. Chloe is now working in R&D (in blockchain) for nChain in Oxford Circus. Eva Gimpel Oxinalde is a polished corner with an A* in Physics currently taking a gap year working in the city before taking up her place to read Physics at Durham university in September.
The reminder of the day was taken up with past paper examination techniques, a trip to La Coupole rocket museum and designing and making various electronic circuits. Saturday also involved further tests on Quantum Physics, an engineering challenge to build and test a racing car for speed, endurance and power. Dr Tartan and Eva also ran a series of Oxbridge style interview tasks that proved very taxing but enjoyable.
