Summer school for physics whiz

Following an outstanding result in the Australian Science Olympiads, a Bunbury student will join the nation’s elite at an intensive science summer school in Canberra during the holidays.

Year 11 student, David Strong, was one of 24 students nationwide to receive a gold medal in the Physics Olympiad, beating his bronze-winning performance in last year’s competition.

More than 5000 students took part in the challenge where questions were based on Year 12 and university level knowledge.

David said he was “happy” about how well he did in the competition and attributed his success to his enjoyment of solving physics problems.

“You’re turning extremely complex things into something that can be solved with a few simple rules,” David said.

He will join 91 other students from around the country at the Australian National University for two weeks of Olympiad Summer School in January where he will have an opportunity to earn a place on the Australian team for the 2016 International Science Olympiads.

David said he was looking forward to challenging himself at the summer school.

“It will be a good chance to learn some useful stuff as I go forward in my career,” he said.

“Being around people who think a lot like me and to see the way they tackle problems will be nice.”

At the end of the summer school 17 students will be selected to represent Australia.