Ogden Scholar awarded medal at International Physics Olympiad

Harry Eakins, an Ogden Trust sixth form science scholar at Quee n Elizabeth's Grammar School in Blackburn, has been awarded a bronze medal at this year's International Physics Olympiad in Vietnam.
 
His journey began last September with the British Physics Olympiad, the first round of which is used as a trial in schools across the country.  Around 1000 of the highest scoring participants progress to the second round, a more challenging paper marked at Olympiad headquarters. Only the top 50 progress to an even harder third round, from which 15 pupils are selected for a three-day training camp at Abingdon School in Oxfordshire, before the fourth round, an experimental examination paper and a further theoretical paper, from which the five competitors to represent Great Britain at the International Physics Olympiad are selected.
 
The IPO has been running for 39 years, and this year attracted teams from 82 countries to Hanoi, Vietnam. The competition itself lasts for two days, with one day devoted to theoretical problems and one to experimental problems. The sets of problems typically last for around 5 hours, though contestants have a day's break between the two competition days.  
 
Harry did exceptionally well to achieve a bronze medal, the highest achievement of anyone in the British team (pictured left, Harry third from left). The Ogden Trust would like to offer congratulations and hopes that Harry will be the first of many Ogden Scholars at the IPO.  Harry’s report of his experience will be available online shortly.
 
 
Harry's Report
 
After watching a documentary on BBC called “Beautiful, Young Minds” (which showed the UK IMO team of 2006) the competitive side of me thought ‘I can do that!’ I had already scraped through the first round of the British Physics Olympiad competition so my foot was in the door.
 
A few months later I had progressed to the last 15 students. And all it took was a small amount of extra revision. This is because majority of students in the country are at the same level and so studying only a few extra topics will push you that little bit higher to make you stand out.
 
I was invited to a 5-day intensive training camp at Abingdon School in Oxford. This was a very grounding experience. It’s easy to become a bit big-headed after achieving something, but this definitely fixed that. I went home sure that I was by far the worst there. My practical examination was only half done and people talking about the theoretical paper seemed to have answered far more than me. A week later I was told that I’d be going to Vietnam! That was crazy – I had to pinch myself.
 
So over the next few months I tried as hard as possible to fit in training for the IPhO with revision for A-levels. To be really honest, I felt terrible. How could I do a good job representing my country when every past paper I tried seemed untouchable? The pressure felt unbearable, although in hindsight it was all self-created.  Anyway, before I knew it I was in Heathrow and then on my way to Hanoi.
 
After arriving at the Hanoi airport it struck me how big the event actually was. We were welcomed by guides and placed in a fast-track IPhO check-out queue. When in the coach from the airport to the hotels we saw IPhO posters plastered around the streets. The traffic was also breathtaking. In the city it was like the streets were filled with a fluid of motorbikes and when the lights turned green they gushed out ruthlessly.
 
Over the next couple of days the UK team just studied in the hotel. This was beneficial to us since we didn’t do that much preparation before, but I was eager to explore the city and so found concentration difficult. Then we had the opening ceremony in the Vietnam National Convention Center. There were mixed reactions to the performances here. I thought they were really great and I felt honoured to be part of such a huge event.
 
Over the next 4 or 5 days, we had our examinations. The theoretical was first and it was horrific. The questions were really different to any past papers so most found it hard to progress through any questions. Afterwards we and other countries were expecting marks in the region of 5/30. It was quite disappointing. The Chinese team were devastated since a couple of them thought they had lost a mark. The experimental exam on the other hand was much more accessible and many people came out quietly confident in their performance.
 
Now that the exams were over the fun could start. We were on excursions every day to amazing places such as Ha Long Bay and Hao Lu, the ancient capital of Vietnam. In Hao Lu we went on an Eco-Tourism boat ride through caves. The caves had stalactites everywhere so you had to keep a look out or your head would be taken off. It was really exciting.
 
The best part of the holiday for me though was the people. Being with such a group of talented and young people with similar interests meant that it was incredibly easy to spark conversation and become friends. The guides were also truly awesome, bringing fun and games into everything.
 
The worst part of the holiday for me was the food. I don’t think it is that I don’t like Vietnamese cuisine, but the hotel the contestants were in served pretty much the same food every day. After 4 or 5 days, the smell of rice made my appetite vanish so I just ate the Dragon fruit which was delicious. When we had celebratory meals in the famous Melia Hotel I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn’t get the chance to try any really strange foods such as dog which was a shame because our guide was so enthusiastic about them, describing them as ‘gorgeous’.
 
To sum it up, my ‘holiday’ in Vietnam was the best experience in my life so far. What made it so special was the huge difference in culture and customs between our countries and despite our diversity, there were no arguments. Everyone accepted each other and learnt so much.
 
I’d like to thank the Ogden Trust and J R Taylors for the scholarship which has led to so much more opportunity in my life recently. It really has made a difference.