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Awaken your potential with a long-term, open-ended project ideal for developing your STEM skills, working collaboratively and enhancing your UCAS application. The CREST Gold Award immerses students in real STEM-based research.
What is the CREST Award Gold?
CREST stands for Creativity in Science and Technology, and the Gold Award invites students aged 16-18 to complete a long-term research or investigation project that demonstrates genuine independence, innovation, and scientific rigour in STEM.
It helps develop your skills in critical thinking and problem solving, research, communication, project management, collaboration, leadership and reflection - all skills highly valued by universties and employers.
There are 4 different types of project:
(i) Practical investigation projects
(i) Practical investigation projects
Practical Investigation are one of the most common project types for CREST. They aim to answer a question, hypothesis or problem. Practical investigation projects should include:
A question, hypothesis or problem
Project aims
Planning / Evidence / Analysis / Conclusion
(ii) Design and Make projects
(ii) Design and Make projects
These projects aim to design and create a product that meets a specific aim. Design and Make projects can start with a broad scope, which is then narrowed down to something more specific. Design and Make projects should include: -A brief -Project aims -Designing of a solution to a specific problem -Testing, analysis, improvement and retesting of solution (multiple cycles) -Analysis of final solution -Conclusion
Example: Past topics have included designing and making a skateboard and designing and building a model catamaran.
(iii) Research projects
(iii) Research projects
These projects aim to provide a fresh perspective or strengthen an argument for a disputed STEM topic through data gathering and analysis. Research projects should include: -A project brief or area to investigate -Project aims -Plans for how data will be gathered and analysed -Critical analysis of existing data -Conclusion Example: Past projects have included topics such as, 'The effects of reminding students about their previous grades on exam performance'.
(iv) Communication projects
(iv) Communication projects
These projects aim to inform a specific audience about a topic or raise their awareness and interest in STEM. Communication projects should include: -A target audience -Background research of the topic and the audience -Design of a form of communication -Reflection and explanation of how the communication is fit for purpose, including being pitched at the correct -age and level of understanding -Evaluation of their communication using appropriate measures -Conclusion
Example: Past projects have included students developing a science show; building an interactive museum exhibit that explained a scientific principle; and a radio show where students interviewed a scientist.
We expect projects to take around 70 hours of work.
You can see a range of frameworks designed by CREST here, but students are free to design their own project from scratch.
You will be mentored by a CHS teacher across Year 12.
How will I be assessed?
How will I be assessed?
Projects are assessed on:
planning
use of resources
the finished project
reflections
Students are assessed individually, but the project should be a team project.
The CREST Gold Award is worth 16 UCAS points.
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