Zhao Hongqing, a 10th grader from the A-level program of the international department of the No.3 Senior High School of Shenzhen, has stood out from intense competition and won a gold medal in the GCSE & AS Physics Challenge of the British Physics Olympiad (BPhO).

Nine other students from the school also earned awards in the competition, including four silver medal winners, two bronze medal I winners and three bronze medal II winners.

The BPhO is a charitable trust overseen by a committee of trustees. It was initiated in 1979, and since 1983 has been used as a qualifier for selection into the U.K. Physics Team for the International Physics Olympiad. The BPhO is hosted by the University of Oxford, the Institute of Physics (IOP), and the Odgen Trust with offices located in the physics department of the University of Oxford.

The event has seen the participation of top contestants from all over the world. The China division alone drew around 2,000 candidates from 270 internationals schools and key schools across the country.

Zhao and his schoolmates were tutored by Leo, a physics teacher at the A-level program. With eight years of experience in A-level and AP teaching, Leo knows how to help students achieve better results in physics learning. Leo spared one hour every day during the preparation for the competition to give targeted tutoring for each student to encourage them to build their strengths and overcome their weaknesses.

Zhao said that the A-level program offers him a platform through which he could learn from global students and have access to opportunities that his peers in China are not able to get.

Meanwhile, the A-level program also offers prospective overseas students opportunities to participate in international competitions so that they can get a general picture of the levels their peers from other countries are at.

The No.3 Senior High School of Shenzhen is one of the two public high schools approved by the Shenzhen Municipal Education Bureau to open international classes, and its A-Level program is one of the strongest programs of the school.

Since it was established, the A-level program has required students to have a solid foundation for both the 3-year model and 3.5-year model programs. (Yang Mei)