Physics

From Year 7 onwards, the sciences are taught as separate disciplines by specialist subject teachers.  All girls study Physics as a separate science up to IGCSE and many go forward to further study at AS, A2 level and IB.  Girls are extremely successful in their study of Physics at GCSE and in the Sixth Form.

Physics is the most fundamental of the experimental sciences in that it seeks to explain the basic features of the natural world in terms of the interactions between matter and energy.  The nature of Physics lends itself to explaining how things work and how they change in an ever developing scientific world, to relate ideas and evidence to industry, to the environment, and to modern technology.

Ideas in Physics lessons are developed in a practical and fun way as girls learn about heat and light and sound, magnetism and electricity, waves and nuclear physics, and are given all the tools to begin to understand how the world around them works.  Physics is like a jigsaw puzzle, the more pieces you put in the easier it becomes to finish.  On the way girls will learn about how the universe works from the smallest particles to the ends of the universe, and the ‘wow’ factor is never very far from Physics as is seen by the annual Year 10 trip to Thorpe Park to study the Physics of motion, and the Sixth Form visits to CERN in Switzerland to marvel at the largest scientific experiment on the planet.

Physics enables scientists to predict what will happen to our planet, and to protect ourselves and our natural environment.  The contribution of Physics to modern medicine is immense – from ultra sound scans of babies in the womb, to full body scanners, laser eye treatment and micro-surgery are just a sample of medical physics used every day.  Architecture and engineering would not function without a solid grounding in basic physics.  In the very recent past St. Helen’s girls have gone on to study Physics (including Oxford and Cambridge), Engineering (at Cambridge), Mathematical Physics, and Medical Physics and Architecture, and those who study Medicine will no doubt use their knowledge of Physics.

The contributions of the great physicists: Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Einstein and many others, are never far from our study at St. Helen’s – they all realised the value of this challenging subject, and by accepting the challenge went on to significantly improve our understanding of the world.