Kick Start Grant recipients

The nature of the event/ activity you plan with and for your students and other stakeholders will
vary depending on your context and the resources you have available. Consider the
following ideas or head to our case study page for more inspiration.

No, there is no obligation for your plans to follow the theme and your grant application will not be
judged on whether you event is aligned with the British Science Week annual theme. While we hope
you find the themed activity packs and resources helpful, you are free to choose your own theme
or repeat a successful activity from a previous year.

The most suitable type of child-led activity will vary depending on the interests and abilities of the
young people, and the resources at your disposal. We strongly encourage that you work with your
students to help them identify links between science and their personal experiences, interests or
local environment, and plan an activity that is meaningful to them.

Did you know that student organisers who spend a minimum of 10 hours designing, planning and
running an event will be eligible for a free CREST Bronze Award? 

Examples of youth-led activities we have funded in previous years include:

You will need to complete the final application using the online platform. We do not accept applications sent as email attachments. We recommend that you draft your application offline and submit it only once you have all the required information to hand. There is a downloadable template you can use offline to prepare your application and is available in the application platform. You will be asked to provide the following information in your application:

Information about your school

School name and address, including postcode.

School reference number (URN, DofE, or SEED number).

School type (e.g. Primary, Special School, Alternative Provision, etc.).

Demographic information about the students at your school if you are eligible based on either the proportion of students that are eligible for FSM or from ethnic minority backgrounds. We ask for the % of students.

Whether your school has previously been awarded a grant from the British Science Association.

Your contact details

Your name and role.

Your work email address.

Your planned events/activities

A description of your planned event/activities; and how they meet British Science Association priorities.

The expected audience of the event/activities (e.g. just students, students and families, etc.).

Total number of expected participants.

A rough budget of costs associated with the event and how the grant money will be used.

Financial details*

School’s bank or building society account name, number, and sort code

The name and email address of your school/MAT/Local Authority Finance contact

* Financial information is stored on a secure cloud -based service and will only be used to pay successful grant applicants. Unused details will be deleted.
If the bank details supplied in your application are incorrect, the payment of the grant will be delayed and may result in the grant being withdrawn. 

To write the best possible application for a Kick Start Grant, we recommend that you consider
these ABCs of advice for your grant submission:

A - Are you eligible?

Before applying, make certain you meet all the eligibility criteria. We will only assess applications from schools that are eligible.

B - British Science Association Priorities

Make sure your plans fit British Science Association priorities and aligns with our vision and mission.

Explain which parts of your planned activities address specific British Science Association priorities, and how they do so.

Your activities do not have to meet all the British Science Association priorities; focus on demonstrating how you meet some of them rather than listing those you have considered, without explaining how they are being addressed.

Review all information in the Kick Start Grant FAQ for other important details such as what the funding can be spent on and other grant conditions.

C - Clear and credible planning

Describe your plans clearly but concisely.

Identify which activities you require the funding for, and any other additional funding you have secured.

Your budget does not have to be detailed but must be realistic and linked to the planned activities clearly. You do not need to provide receipts.

The Kick Start Grant is £400.

While in previous years there have been different values of Kick Start Grants, for British Science Week 2026 all grants offered to successful applicants will be for £400.

Successful Kick Start applicants who do CREST projects during British Science Week (or at any
point until the end of the academic year) will also be able to get up to £350 worth of CREST
Awards for free.

Only one Kick Start Grant application per school will be assessed, so please check with colleagues
at your school before applying. If more than one application is received from a school, we will
discard all but the final application received before the deadline.

The British Science Association offers Engage Grants for schools in challenging circumstances to
run CREST Awards. You can apply for both a Kick Start and Engage Grant in the same grant round,
however as the Kick Start Grant scheme is oversubscribed, if you plan to do CREST Awards during
British Science Week an Engage Grant application may be more appropriate.

You can enter your school’s postcode here https://www.ukpostcodecheck.com/ and check the
census data. Any categorisation that contains ‘rural’ is eligible including:

Accessible Rural Area
Rural Hamlet And Isolated Dwellings
Rural Village area
Rural Town And Fringe area

If you are unsure if your school qualifies as rural please email us, including your postcode, at
bsw@britishscienceassociation.org.

We don’t currently offer a multi-school application. Please apply as an individual school but let us
know if you are working in cooperation with other applicants. On your application indicate which
activities in the joint plan you are seeking funding for. Each linked application will be judged on its
own merits and eligibility.

The type of activity you run is up to you and depends on the interests and needs of your audience
and the resources at your disposal. We assess the applications against the priorities below. You
need not meet all of these priorities, but your application should identify the priorities your activity
will address. You application will be stronger if you give specific details about how you will meet
two or three of these priorities, rather than mentioning several without demonstrating how the
planned activities address them.

For British Science Week 2026, reduced funding from UK Research & Innovation means that we
have fewer Kick Start Grants to award and competition will be considerable. Only the strongest
proposals from eligible schools that have not received Kick Start funding before will be
considered for a grant this year.

Further, we aim for a broad geographical spread of grant funded events and may prioritise grants
from one region over another, if necessary, to achieve this.

You can find the deadline for applications on the Kick Start Grant webpage. Applicants will be
notified of the outcome of their application by email around 6 weeks after the application deadline.
If successful, payments will be made into the nominated bank account approximately one month
later.

If you wish to start planning your event in advance of knowing the outcome of your application,
please note that the British Science Association is not liable for any lost deposits or payments
if your grant application is unsuccessful.

The Kick Start Grant scheme is very popular, and regrettably we must turn down many applications
each year.

Although we realise that this will be disappointing, we encourage applicants to have a back-up plan for a smaller scale event to celebrate British Science Week if their application for a grant is unsuccessful.

We are unable to provide feedback on individual applications, but you may find it helpful to refer to our grants video of tips for applying for British Science Association grants for schools. If you are unsuccessful this year, we encourage you to try again next year! 

There are many things which can be done at low cost or even for free to celebrate British Science Week, for example inviting a STEM Ambassador volunteer to your school to support classroom activities. Check out our free resources for schools:

The nature of activity you plan with and for your students and other stakeholders will vary
depending on your context. We encourage you to prioritise local suppliers and partners and plan
with sustainability in mind; investing in equipment and materials that are reusable, limiting the use
of single-use plastic, and avoiding food and other waste.

Here are some suggestions and restrictions on how you can spend the Kick Start Grant:

Funding CAN be used for

Equipment, materials and consumables

Field trips

CPD for school staff

Speakers or presenters*

Outreach shows*

Additional CREST Award application fees (beyond the free £350)

*We are unlikely to fund events that spend the whole budget on an external speaker or show as
this does not meet the priority of allowing the children to take the lead.

Funding CANNOT be used for

Large competition prizes

Large equipment such as microscopes or laptops

Journal subscriptions

Salary costs

Costs associated with an activity or event that has already taken place

Costs already covered by other funding

No more than £100 of the grant can be spent on refreshments

Yes, however we don’t tend to fund events where the whole grant will be used to pay for an
external provider as it is not in the spirit of our priority of supporting children to take the lead.

We encourage you to consider how your choice of speaker(s) can introduce pupils to careers they
might never have encountered before and demonstrate diversity in STEM.

You might consider arranging a visit from a STEM Ambassador, or inviting family members in who
work in science-related professions. Take the opportunity to broaden your students’ views of what
‘counts’ as science by including a wide variety of roles from the traditional ( physicist, lab
technician, nurse) to the less traditional (construction professions, hair colourist, data analyst, tree
surgeon).

Take care that the show or speaker does not inadvertently reinforce stereotypes that science is
only for boffins/geniuses/professors in white lab coats. We want to fund activities that help young
people see themselves as scientists.

We know that chick hatching services – that provide an incubator and chicken eggs – are a
popular choice for school groups. Similar to butterfly-rearing activities; they provide an opportunity
for young people to get up close to animals and learn to make scientific observations. Ethical
concerns remain, however, as to the appropriateness of a school setting as a hatching environment
and about the aftercare of any hatched animals.

The British Science Association refers to CLEAPSS on all matters health and safety related. Their
student safety sheets provide guidance on how to work in a safe and ethical manner in schools. All
British Science Week activities and events are to be compliant with relevant legislation, and any
activities that are considered unsafe or unethical - including those that potentially cause harm or
distress to animals - will not be funded.

In your grant application you should demonstrate your understanding of the relevant CLEAPPS
advice on keeping and handling animals in science practical work and explain your rationale for
selecting live animal handling compared to alternatives (e.g. live nest camera footage from
reputable organisations).

By applying for a grant, you agree to conditions listed below. Read the full terms and conditions for the Kick Start Grant.

If for whatever reason you are not able to run an event within British Science Week 2026, the
grant money will have to be returned to the British Science Association. For these reasons,
please ensure you have contingency plans in the case of health and safety restrictions or partial
school closure.