Bronze Awards are typically completed by students aged 11+. They complete a ten-hour project which is a perfect introduction to STEM project work. Over the course of the project, teams of students design their own investigation, record their findings, and reflect on their learnings. This process gives students a taste of what it is like to be a scientist or engineer in the real-world.
Silver Awards are typically completed by students aged 14+ over thirty hours. Project work at Silver level is designed to stretch your students and enrich their STEM studies. Students direct the project, determining the project’s aim and how they will achieve it. They carry out the project, record and analyse their results and reflect on the project and their learnings. All Silver projects are assessed by CREST assessors via our online platform.
Gold Awards are typically completed by students aged 16+ over seventy hours. Students’ projects are self-directed, longer term and immerse them in real research. At this level, we recommend students work with a mentor from their chosen STEM field of study. All Gold projects are assessed by CREST assessors via our online platform. There are more CREST approved resources that have been developed by our partners and providers specific to your region.
There are more CREST approved resources that have been developed by our partners and providers specific to your region.
Find out how to build practical CREST projects into secondary science lessons using our free teacher guidance pack. Supporting this guidance are easy-to-use, free-to-download mapping workbooks, which match individual Bronze, Silver and Gold CREST Award projects with each area of the secondary science curricula for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. You can download and save your own copy of the relevant mapping workbook via the following links:
To browse the briefs, click the buttons below or scroll down.
Ageing Society | AI and Data | Clean Growth | Future Mobility Research project ideas Project brief In this project you will choose one of the research questions below and write a balanced report in response: • How does loneliness impact on health? • If people are living and working longer, how will that impact on the future of jobs and careers? • Will new battery technology solve the energy crisis? • Can data and artificial intelligence beat cancer? You should start by researching the theme and making a note of the key issues. Next decide how you could approach the research question and where you could look for evidence to support your theory. Make a list of all the sources of information available to you on the topic. This might include news articles, professional journals, public opinion polls, policy documents, case studies and interviews with professionals. Decide which sources you will choose to look at in your investigation and why. Consider how you will record your findings in a logical way. If you decide to use case studies in your research, you will need to decide how you will select them. If you are looking at articles you might decide if they are generally positive or negative first before analysing the evidence. If you have access to public opinion polls, try to look at the raw data. You could investigate what people think compared with their background or demographics. You could carry out your own survey to find out what people of different ages and backgrounds think. You should plan and carry out your own interview with an expert professional. This could be a professional working in a related job or a researcher at a university. Things to think about • Who will benefit most from new technology, will anyone lose out? • Are there any ethical considerations? • What evidence is used to support the ideas in the articles you have read? • What problems did you face? • If you had more time, how could you extend the project further? • What are the implications of your findings to the real world? Useful resources Ask your teacher to help you find an expert mentor: • stem.org.uk/stemambassadors Articles: • wired.co.uk • newscientist.com • askforevidence.org/help/evid ence Public opinion surveys: • ipsosmori.com • yougov.co.uk Health and safety To avoid any accidents, make sure you stick to the following health and safety guidelines before getting started: • find out if any of the materials, equipment or methods are hazardous using science.cleapss.org.uk/Resou rces/Student-Safety- Sheets/ • assess the risks (think about what could go wrong and how serious it might be); • if you collect your own data from surveys or interviews, make sure you get permission to use it in your project report; • decide what you need to do to reduce any risks (such as wearing personal protective equipment, knowing how to deal with emergencies and so on); • make sure your teacher agrees with your plan and risk assessment. 18
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Ten hour projects recommended for ages 11+. Find out more about this level and how to gain a CREST Award on the Bronze Awards page.
Thirty hour projects recommended for ages 14+. Find out more about this level and how to gain a CREST Award on the Silver Award page.
Seventy hour projects recommended for ages 16+. Find out more about this level and how to gain a CREST Award on the Gold Awards page
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