Developing intellectual curiosity is at the heart of Physics at Badminton. Girls are encouraged to ask questions and then given the tools to answer them.
Exciting, dynamic teaching sits alongside state-of-the-art equipment and an impressive array of co-curricular clubs and trips. From national engineering competitions like the Flying Start Challenge in Year 7 to working with liquid-nitrogen cooled superconductors, there is always something to inspire.
I feel that the opportunities I had at Badminton helped me look out for more and meant that from the beginning I had something a little bit different.
Esme, Old Badmintonian and
Aeronautical Engineering pupil, Imperial College, London
Alongside the Flying Start Challenge in Year 7, girls also get involved in the Industrial Cadets Bronze Award in Year 9, where they attend a launch day at a local engineering company and are paired up with a local mentor, working for 10 weeks on a project before attending a ‘graduation and celebration’ day. In the Lower Sixth, girls have the chance to take part in the Blott Matthews Challenge, a research-based team project where pupils design innovative solutions to contemporary problems, such as inter-planetary habitation, meeting the electricity demand in a carbon-neutral future, and transportation of heavy loads around the Earth. We also encourage girls to take part in national engineering competitions.
Physics is a vital subject for many sciences and engineering degree courses. From engineers designing aeroplanes and doctors prescribing radiotherapy to bankers analysing data in the city, modern society is crying out for people with the analytical ability and problem-solving skills developed in Physics.
Those studying the Sciences at Badminton are eligible for the Boynton Science Award. Generously funded by the parent of a former pupil, this award offers an amount towards study materials for a girl who has distinguished herself in her wider engagement with Science activities and/or her contribution to Science education beyond the curriculum.
In Year 9 girls work for a Term on light and electricity and then begin the Edexcel IGCSE Physics course, which continues through Years 10 and 11. This provides a thorough grounding in key subject areas such as forces and electricity, as well as looking at new topics such as radioactivity. There is no coursework, but practical work is important. The content-rich nature of the course makes it excellent preparation for going on to study A Level Physics and provides lots of extension opportunities.
At A Level, we follow the OCR Physics A curriculum. This is a linear course with no examinations until the end of the two years, giving lots of opportunities to explore areas of individual interest. Mechanics and electricity are revisited at much greater depth, whilst new areas of study such as quantum physics and medical physics are explored. Physics A Level allows girls to develop the ability to think logically and analytically whilst also becoming highly numerate and honing their ability to explain complex ideas clearly and succinctly.
Badminton School, Westbury Road, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, BS9 3BA
T : +44 (0)117 905 5200
