Haywards Heath College Students Collaborate with UCL on Exocomet Research  

Haywards Heath College students have been reaching for the stars through the National ORBYTS Academic Research Programme.  

A team of A-level Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Computer Science extraordinaries took part in cutting-edge research into the ongoing search for comets beyond the Solar System. 

The students worked weekly alongside doctoral researchers at University College London’s (UCL) Mullard Space Science Laboratory.  

After four months of collaborative work, UCL doctoral researcher and Orbyts mentor Jake Hanlon expressed his excitement as students from Haywards Heath presented their comet research at University College London in June.   

The event featured an academic poster session, followed by a formal presentation of the Exocomet Project to an audience of more than 200 attendees.  

The research undertaken by the students will later form part of a publication in an academic journal, with the research poster already receiving a special recognition award at a Centre for Planetary Science Conference.     

One student reflected on their experience, saying, “This has shown me that everyone has their own career path, and they can work together on a project even if they study different things”.     

Another student added, “I loved meeting new people from other schools and learning about their research in space science, medical physics, and Artificial Intelligence”.  

The college would like to thank Jake Hanlon at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, the National Orbyts Programme, and the college staff for giving students valuable experience.