A Level Physics

Overview of the course

The IGCSE course is covered in one year and students study basic concepts of mechanics, heat and thermodynamics, electricity and magnetism, nuclear physics and electronics. They also develop the basic skills to perform experiments, plot graphs and draw valid conclusions.

AS level: Students learn and gain in-depth knowledge of Newtonian Mechanics, heat and thermodynamics, sound and light, electricity, nuclear physics and electronics. The students also learn how to plan an investigation, follow scientific steps to perform an experiment, record the findings and evaluate their performance.

A2 level: Students are given the opportunity to plan and perform experiments on their own, providing a chance to measure their own performance and develop creativity. They also learn more about electricity and magnetism, nuclear physics, thermodynamics and electronic communication.

How is the teaching adapted to suit the needs of Chinese students?

Physics seems to be a favourite subject for most Chinese students. They have a good understanding of basic Physics and enjoy learning more through experimentation and demonstrations, which is not normally a focus for most Chinese schools. Class sizes enable them to have a personal interaction with the teacher during their class time. The students are also keen to watch subject-related videos and review relevant information available on the internet. Project work forms an important step towards expressing innovative ideas, developing group working and presentation skills. All these strategies help our students to gain the required knowledge and skills. The results in Physics are very impressive and a number of our students have received awards in CIE examinations, including: 'Best performance in the World' and 'Best performance in China'.

Resources

Our Physics teachers have excellent subject knowledge and a wide experience in teaching students from diverse cultures and nationalities. They form the main source of knowledge base for the students, supported by books, videos, power point presentations, simulations, demonstrations, group discussions and seminars. A number of centres already run, or are planning to start, Physics Clubs, Electronics Clubs and Astronomy Clubs as extra-curricular activities. We also wish to develop more visits to industrial centres and have guest speakers into the schools as an integral part of the learning process.