Haberdashers’ Scoop Weizmann UK Physics Prize

The start of February saw the return of our annual physics tournament in which Year 12 students must put their knowledge to the test by building and cracking safes using only the principles of physics.

The tournament was held at Dulwich College and over 100 students took part with 21 teams from 14 schools participating this year.

Teams were tasked with designing a safe which could be cracked only by solving two physics riddles. Each team had to be able to open their own safe in under 5 minutes, but needed to keep their opponents stumped for at least 10 minutes.

The top prize went to Haberdashers’ Boys’ School for their safe, Alien Bastion. Second place was awarded to St Paul’s School and Tonbridge School took third. A special award for Best Newcomer was awarded to Francis Holland School.

The Davidson Institute, the educational arm of the Weizmann Institute, will be digitally hosting their International Safe Cracking Tournament in March and the top three teams from the UK competition will be given the opportunity to pit their wits against students from across the world.