Welcome from the Headmaster of Shrewsbury School It is a great privilege for all of us here at Shrewsbury School to be able to host the International Young Physicists’ Tournament 2014.  Shrewsbury is a school with a strong scientific tradition stretching right back to the time when Charles Darwin was one of our pupils.  Since that time, the school has continued to encourage and promote scientific enquiry. It is a particular pleasure to be able to welcome boys and girls from so many different nations around the world.  We are constantly reminded about how science has facilitated in the ‘shrinking’ of the globe and how it has provided a common language. We hope that all our visitors attending this prestigious tournament will enjoy the atmosphere, traditions and history both of Shrewsbury School and our beautiful town.  We hope very much that they will enjoy a high level of competition, learn a great deal and, perhaps even more importantly, develop friendships that will allow the sharing of scientific ideas around the world in the future. A tournament of this size and prestige can only be achieved through a huge amount of meticulous organisation.  I am most grateful to everybody who has worked so hard to bring the IYPT to Shrewsbury and the United Kingdom. Mark Turner