About Me

Mrs Physics has been likened to the back end of a bus, personally she things you can't beat a routemaster for design.
Mrs Physics has been likened to the back end of a bus, personally she thinks you can’t beat a routemaster for design.

Mrs Physics was a name coined by her daughter for a website. Mrs Physics has taught Physics in Scotland for a very long time in two schools, firstly in Hawick High School and then in Lockerbie Academy. She wanted to start a website for many years as a deposit for her resources for Scottish school students studying Physics and a handy place to find useful things. Not being an organised person she feels that if they’re online even she might be able to locate things she needs. She has no background in computing, apart from during her sixth year at school when the wonderful BBC Micro arrived and she learned a bit of Basic.

Mrs Physics has had an exciting career, even if it isn’t considered successful. She has been privileged to be able to set SQA papers and questions and has marked for the SQA at two levels. She has confidence that the system is as robust as it can be, although not perfect.

During 2004 she spent seven weeks at Chapelcross, learning that there is life outside teaching.

Nuclear Power Station, before the towers came down
Nuclear Power Station, before the towers came down

Staff at the decommissioned nuclear plant were wonderful and she owes a great deal of gratitude to The Royal Society of Edinburgh for sponsoring this. Having attended the Scottish Space School at both Strathclyde and Houston, Texas, USA, she has a keen interest in Space and has started organising Regional trips to Space school in Houston, although the 2020 was cancelled due to covid ?.  She got involved in the Royal Society (the London one) through the Partnership Grants Scheme and worked with Police Scotland Road Policing Division to put together material for school physics. This has opened amazing doors for both Mrs Physics and her students. They exhibited at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition and at the D&G Science Festival. Students wrote up their work in the Young Scientist’s Journal and were awarded a prize and another trip to the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition. Renault supported her to attend Renault HQ and find out about car safety and Mr Physics got a trip to Belgium to pick up an EU prize for this work and also the wonderful EU Transport Commissioner Voileta Bluc visited the school (I’m still trying to find pictures as it was during the election so all had to be kept quiet).  She loves Physics and wants people to realise not all Physics is hard. It encourages thinking and that must be a good thing. Mrs Physics has been down and seen the LHC @ CERN and the enormous CMOS collider. She’s also watched a film being made by ENERGY FORESIGHT, in London. If you have this DVD in school look in the credits. She was the one responsible for Orkney and Shetland appearing on the map! She also got to speak with the wonderful Gill Arbuthnott at several Edinburgh International Book Festivals, so has shared a yurt with lots of important authors, and she’s grateful to the Royal Society for arranging this.

In 2017 she attended Science on Stage 2017 at Debrecan Hungary, and started a new Partnership Grant involving hearing tests. Science on Stage 2017 was an amazing experience and Mrs Physics’ head is full of new ideas and contacts. She has hosted a Portuguese teacher who got involved with our Hear Today- Gone Tomorrow project and she spent a week in Portugal visiting our Portuguese teacher’s home and work spaces and taking Rosie with her. She even got to help teach in a Portuguese prison! She’s went back to Science on Stage at the end of 2019 in Cascais Portugal.

Currently she is doing a bit of extra as an IoP (Scotland) Physics Coach, which is great fun on line and has put me back in touch with some pals a long way North. I just wish I could be helpful to those in D&G!

Moffat from the hills
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Moffat_from_the_hills.JPG

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3176665

Both Scottish Borders and D&G are a bit out on a limb, so Mrs Physics has tried to get things done in this Region so students aren’t too disadvantaged by living in a beautiful part of Scotland. She was once the D&G Curriculum Leader for Physics and arranged some weekends away in an Outward Bounds centre for teachers where they slept in bunk bed dormitories and burnt croissants in a microwave (completely unintentionally), and arranged for Dr Bunhead to run a Masterclass at Dumfries Academy, where the smoke alarms were activated and the whole school was evacuated. The students were quite surprised to see Dr Bunhead in the playground wearing his googles. In 2017 she finally persuaded the lovely Gail Miller to allow D&G to host a Girl’s into Physics day.

teacher

She thinks she has a sense of humour but her students don’t really agree, although they do agree that she is an old biddy. What ex-students generally remember about her is that she writes backwards and drinks weak decaf tea from a huge mug. There are worse things to be remembered for, but she wishes a few more students would remember some things about Physics.

She is just a tiny bit younger than the Lockerbie Ice rink and looks it too, although Mr Physics has said she has worn better- thanks!

The ice rink is definitely older than Mrs Physics-just!

Mrs Physics has a very patient OH who is able to cook, which is pretty important for the two children; who would have starved long ago if she were in charge of that side of things. Mr Physics was once an academic who worked in Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions. Fortunately he left to support his family especially Mrs Physics who needed more help than the children. He has now found a new role as the school science technician.

In any spare time she has she doesn’t clean the house as most sensible home owners do but she goes to church and tries to visit her 56 foot canal boat as much as possible. It took four years to finally agree on Mostly Harmless as a boat name which is a quote from “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”: compulsory reading for any sentient being. During lockdown Mr Physics introduced her to Ordnance Survey Benchmarking, which you can read about in the blog. I think he regretted doing that but it kept her under control during lockdown and she’s now got her best friend searching the country for more.

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2014_10_12_15_56_00_fuji-custom
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inside

Hopefully everyone can find something interesting here, if not let me know and she’ll see what she can do.

People who have made a great impression on her and affected her Physics teaching include:

  • Michael Birch: Physics Teacher, Chesterfield St. Helena School
  • Des Malone: Deptford Green School
  • Rob Gray: Hawick High School
  • Kevin Bailey: Wallace Hall Academy
  • Frank Callaghan: Annan Academy
  • Tom Balanowski: Linlithgow Academy
  • Dave Pound and Bob McEwen: Lockerbie Academy

Oh and she’s sorry, she’s just realised she forgot the most important person….. Mr/Dr Physics, the chef, household glue and the one who understands buoyancy!

Thanks to all of them!

Signature

Updated 01/01/21 (@ 00:10.

https://www.mrsphysics.co.uk/blog/iop-physics-teacher-award/


54 thoughts on “About Me”

  1. Hi,
    I am currently a student at Perth College UHI conducting a study into pilot fatigue and was hoping to measure reaction time as a parameter within the study. I contacted FifeX after coming across their Road Safety Reaction Timer to which they responded that they are no longer produced, but recommended getting in touch with Mrs Physics at this website as you may have a few units. Would it be possible to acquire one of these units on a loan for the duration of the study from you?
    It would be much appreciated if possible.
    PS apologies for sending this request via the comments section, however I could not find an email address.
    Kind Regards,
    Andrew Jack
    Perth College UHI

  2. Thanks for sharing your great milestones in Physics teaching. I would like to communicate with you on your article for Science in School Issue 44 article on the investigation about a car crash please. Many thanks and keep up the good work.

    Stephanie

  3. Hi Stephanie, I’m sorry I seem to have missed this one. I’ll log on and try to find your email address, and I’ll change the settings so I get notified. This week I did two sessions of the road safety with 13&14 year olds. The police came in and it was great.

  4. Dear Mrs Physics
    thanks for sharing all the really useful stuff. I will be using some of your Assignment guides this year.
    And someone who all the standard grades ! what a star
    I take it this is Jennie Hargreaves!
    Much Appreciated

  5. Hello, form America!! I Have taken a class this semester on electricity and magnetism to scratch up on some of my physics for next year at uni. I was having an argument over the flow of current and weather it was +ve to -ve, and could have sworn that you said that for some reason it was back to front at home. Was wondering the reason for it,
    Rowan Chisholm
    Your ex and slightly scatterbrained student.

  6. Hi,

    Like the rest of the country we are scrambling to find good N5 revision resources. I have downloaded your amazing new LO booklet!! Such a great resource. When will the answers be complete? Can our team here at Wallace High School (Stirling) help you with this?

  7. As you put ‘I don’t expect one single person to be interested in my life since leaving SB’ I simply had to let you know I found it fascinating – and your website!

    I am a ’90 graduate of SB, Animal Science, and love getting the Agrimag. Where people end up, the choices they make … fabulous.
    A Yorkshire lass, I ended up marrying an Italian and living in Canada ….

    Keep writing in – looking forward to your next installment!
    Ang

  8. Hi, my son failed his nat5 physics but wants to resit. He is leaving school and I wondered if you knew of any online Nat 5 courses he could enrol in
    Thanks

  9. Hi there!

    Really like your website and the resources on here. I am a new teacher and would like to know if it is OK to use some of your homework resources? They are really useful and ordered into specific topics.
    I was also wondering if you have the answers anywhere on the site to check what I have given as my answers and to save a new teacher some time!
    No problem if not – completely understand!

  10. Hi – i hope you’re well.

    I’m the producer at video production company, and we are currently producing some Higher Physics video content for BBC Scotland. We are covering 4 subjects that students typically find hard to grasp, and are looking for a knowledgable Physics consultant to come on board to fact check scripts and visuals etc.

    I wondered if this may be something you were interested in? Please drop me an email if so!

    Thanks you in advance.

  11. Mrs Physics, I am in love! You are an amazing lady!
    I discovered your page when helping my son find info to boost his physics revision.
    Thank you – your site is fab, love the layout ?

  12. Hi Mrs Physics
    I was looking over your section upon the Photoelectric Effect, and the information there is really helpful.
    I noticed that the link to the Photoelectric Effect Knowledge Organiser is no longer working.
    Could you please fix that if possible, would be good to be able to use that to help practice for the upcoming exam, as that is currently my biggest weakness.
    Thank you for reading, and thank you for making this brilliant revision resource website.
    Kind regards
    Donald Kerner

  13. Wait, never mind, must had just been an issue with my laptop, my apologies, didn’t mean to waste your time

  14. Hello! Recently my Son asked me who was my favourite teacher was at school. I said my physics teacher at Hawick High School in the 90s. He asked me why…what a question?! Well because she was a strong role model. I had been ‘picked on’ by some boys in my class only girl and I was struggling to learn. I went into her class and she was excellent. Even at 16 I could see the effort she put into our lessons (those OHP) slides were unreal. No other teachers were so prepared. She cared it was clear. Physics didn’t come naturally to me, I was better at biology. I took it cause I wanted to be taught be her and I wanted to get into the RAF. What she won’t know is how I turned out!! I am now a LT COL in the NZ Army, Gender Advisor doing my bit for Women and Girls in conflict and Natural Disaster. Doing my bit for Women in the Military. Strong female role models are sooo important. What a fabulous site and role model Mrs Physics. Thank you!

  15. Hello,

    I work as a documentary researcher for a company called Blink Films based in London, UK. We are currently making a documentary on car and road safety and are trying to approach crash investigators.

    The public engagement workshop you were involved in really resonated with the public safety message of the show, and we are hoping to try get in contact with the crash investigators involved. Namely Neil Hewitson and Campbell Moffat – would you be able to pass on their contact details so I can get in contact with them regarding this opportunity.

  16. I would like to say a massive thank you for all of the time effort and care you put into your amazing resources and then being so generous as to share them like this.
    I am teaching AH for the first time and although I am nervous I have avoided having a complete meltdown many times already by finding exactly what I need here. If there is a link somewhere to buy you a coffee I would very much like to contribute!
    thank you!

  17. Good morning Mrs Hargreaves,
    I am a lecturer at UHI NWH in Stornoway, and I am covering N.5 Physics for a colleague.
    Some of our students are using your excellent course materials (and they have certainly helped me get back up to speed) and have asked me to get in touch with you about the homework questions in the booklets.
    Do you have answers avaliable that we could use to check the homework and example questions?

    Thank you,

    Alistair

  18. Hi Mrs P,
    I did a quick search on your name and it led me to this blog. I found it fascinating. I was going to drop you an e-mail but I sometimes have a problem with Glow as it doesn’t like my e-mail address due to authentication problems it has with my provider, which I have been unable to get resolved.
    You may recall my involvement with Lockerbie Academy about 15 years ago when I ran the Science Week grant system for the BA. We visited to watch you launch rockets into the building site for the new school.
    We shall be in your area on Friday 15 December and would like to meet you again after school that day.

    Kind regards,
    Sandy

  19. Hello Mrs Physics
    My name is XXXXX, sixth year student at XXXXX.
    I was wondering if you could help me with project decisions? We have recently covered SHM, and I have found myself to be quite interested in it. I noticed on your website that you have SHM experiments from past pupils, and wondering if you have any information on them? I have some questions and would appreciate any help.

  20. Hi Mrs Physics,
    I’ve found your website really helpful, but wondered if you may offer online tutoring? My daughter has physics anxiety about upcoming N5 and could do with a confidence boost. As I didn’t do physics myself (but have learned a lot from your resources) I’d appreciate some help. If not could you point me in the direction of sourcing some tutoring help for her?

  21. Hello and I wonder if you can help. My son’s tutor suggested that you may have some guidance on your website about his higher assignment on Snell’s Law. Is that correct or did we pick it up I Orr’s fly and it’s general guidance for the assignment that’s there? Thank you for the help and for the videos.

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