About this SuperCurriculum XTEND

Description

CREST is a scheme that inspires young people to think and behave like scientists and engineers.

Objective(s)

The Gold level is designed to stretch you. It is a long-term (70+ hours), in-depth projects that are run by the students themselves. In this academic year, our project focus is AI + Energy Efficiency Project. CREST Gold can be used to enhance your UCAS personal statements.

Who should sign up?

Aspiring scientists and engineers, or those who would like to improve their teamwork and problem solving skills.

Duration: 2 Periods

Prerequisite: 

• See below for Subject Knowledge and Technical Skills.

• Attitude to problem solve and dedicated to working as a team.

Only shortlisted candidates will be enrolled based on an internal selection process - apply before 2nd September 2025

Subject Knowledge

• Physics:

  • Basic electricity concepts (current, voltage, power, resistance, energy in kWh).

  • Understanding of efficiency and energy transfer.

  • Awareness of real-world energy issues (sustainability, energy demand).
    
    

• Maths:

  • Handling data sets (averages, trends, outliers).

  • Graphing and interpreting results.

  • Some exposure to functions, probability, or statistics is helpful.
    
    

• Computer Science (helpful but not essential):

  • Basics of algorithms and data structures.

  • Understanding what “training a model” means (pattern recognition, prediction).
    
    

Technical Skills

• Data Handling

  • Comfortable working with spreadsheets (Excel, Google Sheets).

  • Ability to clean, organise, and visualise data.
    
    

• Programming (Beginner–Intermediate level in one language):

  • Python preferred (especially libraries: pandas, matplotlib, scikit-learn).

  • Ability to read and adapt sample code from tutorials.

  • Writing simple scripts to process data and train models.
    
    

• Electronics (for building the smart plug prototype):

  • Basic familiarity with Arduino/Raspberry Pi.

  • Confidence using breadboards, sensors, and relays (with supervision).

  • Safety awareness when working with devices that plug into mains.