Young STEM Leader Programme (YSLP) and CREST Awards

This article is for SSERC Young STEM Leaders

Now that you have achieved a STEM Leader or Young STEM Leader Award, you have also achieved all the learning required to also apply for a CREST Award in Scotland, for no additional charge. This is thanks to a partnership between the YSLP at SSERC and the CREST Awards team.

Please read on to find out how to receive your Award.

Who is eligible to receive a free CREST Award?

Anyone who successfully completes the YSLP (levels 3,4,5, 6 or 7) in this current academic year (August 2025 – July 2026) and has been issued with their certificate is eligible.

When is the CREST Awards application deadline?

All applications must be made by 16 August 2026.

Which Award Level should I apply for?

CREST Award levels are aligned with the following YSLP levels.

YSLP level	CREST level
YSL3	Discovery CREST Award
YSL4 (NF) and YSL4(F)	Bronze CREST Award
YSL5	Silver CREST Award
YSL6	Silver CREST Award
YSL7	Silver or Gold CREST Award

Applying for a CREST Award is a great way to gain extra recognition for all your hard work, and further demonstrate the excellent skills and knowledge developed via the YSLP programme.

CREST Awards are globally recognised and celebrated with a certificate that’s trusted by many universities and valued by employers across the UK and beyond.

How do I apply?

There are three ways Young STEM Leaders can apply for CREST Awards:

1. Tutor Assessors can apply on your behalf at any level. If you would like to apply in this way, please liaise directly with your Tutors Assessor- that’s the teacher or other education practitioner who worked with you to achieve the YSLP Award.
2. Young STEM Leaders can apply themselves and/or;
3. With the support of parents/carers.

If you would like to follow routes two or three, please read on.

You will require your YSLP certificate to apply for Bronze, Silver or Gold CREST Awards.

Young STEM Leader Level 3 (YSL3) = Discovery Awards

Discovery Awards can be applied for by parents/carers on behalf of the Young STEM Leaders. Follow these instructions to apply.

1. Create an account at apply.crestawards.org
   1. From your dashboard select ‘Programs’ in the grey toolbar to start a new application.
   2. Follow the green ‘More’ button from the Discovery Award box.
   3. Start your application by selection the green ‘Apply’ button.
2. Tell us about your project. Please note that the word ‘project’ is used on the CREST application platform to refer to students’ work. During this part of the application process you will be asked if you would like students’ names printed on their CREST certificates. Select 'Printed' if you would like Young STEM Leaders names printed on, or 'Blank' if you would not like names to be included. If you select Blank you will be asked for both school or group name, and project title. Both will be printed on your certificates. Your project title should be ‘Young STEM Leader Programme’.
3. Discovery Assessment. By completing YSL3, you have met the CREST Discovery assessment criteria. This means you can complete the ‘Discovery assessment agreement’ on your application.
4. Payment round - claim your free CREST Bronze Awards’ by entering the code SA2YSLP6.
5. Celebrate with your additional certificate, which should arrive within 2-4 weeks of application. You will be notified as soon as possible, and the CREST Award certificates will be sent to the person that applied for the CREST Award(s) on behalf of the Young STEM Leader(s).

Young STEM Leader Level 4 (Formal and Non-Formal) = Bronze Awards

Bronze Awards can be applied for by parents/carers on behalf of the Young STEM Leaders. Follow these instructions to apply.

1. Create an account at apply.crestawards.org
   1. From your dashboard select ‘Programs’ in the grey toolbar to start a new application.
   2. Follow the green ‘More’ button from the Bronze Award box.
   3. Start your application by selection the green ‘Apply’ button.
2. Tell us about your project. Please note that the word ‘project’ is used on the CREST application platform to refer to students’ work. During this part of the application process, you will be asked if you would like students’ names printed on their CREST certificates. Select 'Printed' if you would like Young STEM Leaders names printed on, or 'Blank' if you would not like names to be included. If you select Blank you will be asked for both school or group name, and project title. Both will be printed on your certificates. Your project title should be ‘Young STEM Leader Programme’.
3. Bronze Assessment. By completing YSL4 (NF) or YSL4(F) you have met the Bronze assessment criteria so you can complete the ‘Bronze assessment’ on your application. You will be asked to upload a sample of your student’s work. As evidence, please upload the YSLP certificate.
4. Payment round - claim your free CREST Bronze Awards’ by entering the code SA2YSLP6.
5. Celebrate with your additional certificate. CREST aims for certificates to be processed within 2-4 weeks of application. You will be notified as soon as possible, and the CREST Award certificate will be sent to the person that had applied for the CREST Award on behalf of the Young STEM Leader.

Young STEM Leader Level 5, 6 & STEM Leader 7 = Silver Award

Silver Awards can be applied for by individual Young STEM Leaders or by parents/carers. Follow these instructions to apply.

1. Create an account at apply.crestawards.org
   1. From your dashboard select ‘Programs’ in the grey toolbar to start a new application.
   2. Follow the green ‘More’ button from the Award level box you are submitting for.
   3. Start your application by selection the green ‘Apply’ button.
2. Tell us about your project’ task. During this task please:
   1. Enter your project title. This can be ‘Young STEM Leader Programme’
   2. Select ‘Other’ from the subject list
   3. Select ‘Other’ from the project setting list
   4. Select 'Young STEM Leader Programme from the query ‘Are you working with any of these partner schemes’.
3. Complete the remainder of the tasks. When completing the ‘Upload your work’ task, upload your YSLP certificate.
4. Payment round - claim your free CREST Bronze Awards’ by entering the code SA2YSLP6.
5. Celebrate with your additional certificate. CREST aims for certificates to be processed within 2-4 weeks of application. You will be notified as soon as possible, and the CREST Award certificate will be sent to the person that applied for the Award.

STEM Leader Level 7 (SL7) plus additional tasks = Gold Award

Gold Awards can be applied for by individual STEM Leaders. Please note, Gold Awards will require additional evidence alongside your STEM Leader 7 certificate.
A Gold CREST Award requires typically 70+ hours’ worth of work. A STEM Leader Level 7 requires 60 hours of work and so an 10 additional hours must be completed and evidenced in order to achieve a Gold Award.
This evidence must include:

• A completed CREST Awards Student Profile Form
• A short written report containing a project time log (for example a diary or Gantt chart) outlining what work you have done to meet the additional hours.

Follow these instructions to apply:

1. Create an account at apply.crestawards.org
   1. From your dashboard select ‘Programs’ in the grey toolbar to start a new application.
   2. Follow the green ‘More button’ from the Award level box you are submitting for.
   3. Start your application by selection the green ‘Apply’ button.
2. Tell us about your project task’. During this task please:
   1. Enter your project title. This can be ‘Young STEM Leaders Programme’
   2. Select ‘Other’ from the subject list.
   3. Select ‘Other’ from the project setting list.
   4. Select ‘Young STEM Leader Programme from the query ‘Are you working with any of these partner schemes’.
3. Complete the remainder of the tasks. When completing the ‘Upload your work’ task, upload your YSLP certificate, your Student Profile Form, and your evidence towards additional hours worked.
4. When completing the payment task ‘Claim your CREST Award’, if you have a voucher code towards payment you can enter it at this stage. Claim your free CREST Bronze Awards’ by entering the code SA2YSLP6.
5. Celebrate with your additional certificate. We aim for certificates to be processed within 2-4 weeks of application. You will be notified as soon as possible, and the CREST Award certificate will be sent to the person that applied for the CREST Award.

If you have any questions about using your Young STEM Leader Award to apply for a CREST Award, or about CREST Awards in general, please get in touch at crest@britishscienceassociation.org.