Most scientists would consider themselves lucky to publish a research paper while still an undergraduate, but a group of pupils at Highams Park School in East London has co-authored a paper at age 18, thanks to ORBYTS.
Original Research By Young Twinkle Scientists (ORBYTS) comprises the core part of EduTwinkle, the education and outreach arm of the upcoming exoplanet space mission Twinkle, led by UK scientists and engineers, and is aimed at A-level students.
ORBYTS was founded in 2016 by Clara Sousa-Silva, who was splitting her time teaching at Highams Park School and working as a postdoc at University College London, via the Researchers in Schools programme. This blend of education and research inspired her to set up a scheme enabling young postdoc and PhD students from her research group at UCL, ExoMol, to perform novel research with some of her sixth-form students. ORBYTS now involves more than 30 pupils in eight schools across the UK
