British Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad Top Gold

Keen astronomer, Hayden in 6.1 has been awarded a Top Gold in the British Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad round 1 putting him in the top 30 students in the country. In the second round, with questions pitched close to international level, Hayden was awarded a Silver.

The BAAO covers five core astronomy and astrophysics topics: Celestial mechanics, stellar evolution, telescope optics, galactic physics and cosmology and observational astronomy.

Hayden, who is from Hong Kong, developed his love of astronomy here at Concord: “My interest in astronomy started when I arrived here. There was little light pollution, and I was able to see more stars than I ever could in Hong Kong.

“I also studied GCSE astronomy so that fuelled my passion as well. I started off with a pair of binoculars, then gradually upgraded my rig with a refracting and a reflecting telescope, dedicated astronomy camera and equatorial mount.”

“The most exciting thing that I’ve seen was the Andromeda Galaxy when I started astronomy 3 years ago. It was one of the “beginner moments” when I successfully captured the Galaxy with my 4-year-old phone and very amateur binoculars. I was also deeply impressed when I looked at the moon with my telescope. I could see the craters, maria, valleys that were taught in Astronomy lessons. Another exciting moment was when I saw Saturn’s rings and its moons.”

Hayden has shared his love of astronomy with fellow students, taking some incredible photographs with his telescope.

Concord is fortunate to sit on the edge of the Shropshire Hills area of outstanding natural beauty an area which is known for its lack of light pollution, and which has several “Dark Sky” sites.

Concord principal, Dr Truss, himself a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a former astrophysicist, congratulated Hayden on his success: “Hayden’s achievement is significant, not just because he has been rightly recognised for one of the top performances in the country, but because astrophysics requires such a diverse range of knowledge and skills, touching on all aspects of physics while being applied to some of the very biggest questions. Everyone here at Concord is very proud of his accolade.”

Hayden’s success is not limited to Astronomy and, along with Noah, Reid and Xingzhi, he also achieved a Top Gold in the British Physics Olympiad (round 1). The double Top Gold is described by Dr Richards as “an incredible achievement, particularly for a student still in 6.1”