
Secondary and further education
Empower your students to lead their own STEM projects from start to finish. Let them take charge, explore what excites them most, and earn recognition!

CREST Awards for secondary and further education
Typical ages 11+
Typically 10 hrs
£6 UK; £12.50 International
Bronze Award
An introduction to STEM project work for students working individually or in teams. Bronze Awards introduce students to project work empowering them to work like real scientists. Students choose their own topic and methodologies, giving them complete freedom over their work.
Explore Bronze AwardTypical ages 14+
Typically 30 hrs to complete
£15 UK; £25 International
Silver Award
Challenge your students to take ownership of a STEM project in teams or individually. Silver Awards are designed to stretch students and enrich their STEM studies. Whether investigating their own project idea or using one of our free resource prompts, students plan and direct their own project, gaining in-depth experience of the scientific method or engineering design process.
Explore Silver AwardTypical ages 16+
Typically 70 hrs to complete
£30 UK; £40 International
Gold Award
Awaken your students’ potential with a long-term, open-ended project ideal for enhancing their UCAS applications. Gold Awards are longer projects that immerse students in real research. At this level, we recommend students work with a mentor from their chosen STEM field of study.
Explore Gold Award
How to run a CREST Award for secondary levels
Plan
Browse the free resources in our Resource Library for project ideas.
Alternatively, students can create and design their own projects. Familiarise your students with the CREST criteria for Bronze, Silver or Gold so they know what to aim for.
Complete
Students complete their projects before submission. Create a free account on our application platform to submit projects.
For Bronze, upload a sample of the project work or a completed Bronze workbook. For Silver and Gold, upload the project work alongside a profile form of each student.
Assess
Students must meet at least 11 of the 15 CREST criteria to earn an Award.
For the Bronze, a teacher or adult assesses the projects. For Silver and Gold, a CREST assessor evaluates each project. The application fee must be paid before assessment.
Celebrate
Celebrate the incredible achievement of your students as they achieve their CREST Awards.
Share your experience with us or tag us in your posts. Let's spread the joy and inspire others with your students' success!
Plan
Browse the free resources in our Resource Library for project ideas.
Alternatively, students can create and design their own projects. Familiarise your students with the CREST criteria for Bronze, Silver or Gold so they know what to aim for.
Complete
Students complete their projects before submission. Create a free account on our application platform to submit projects.
For Bronze, upload a sample of the project work or a completed Bronze workbook. For Silver and Gold, upload the project work alongside a profile form of each student.
Assess
Students must meet at least 11 of the 15 CREST criteria to earn an Award.
For the Bronze, a teacher or adult assesses the projects. For Silver and Gold, a CREST assessor evaluates each project. The application fee must be paid before assessment.
Celebrate
Celebrate the incredible achievement of your students as they achieve their CREST Awards.
Share your experience with us or tag us in your posts. Let's spread the joy and inspire others with your students' success!

Special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
We aim to make CREST accessible for everyone, therefore CREST resources are designed to be very flexible and adaptable, allowing you to make any modifications or changes that would assist your learners of all abilities in achieving their CREST Awards. Get started today and empower your students to achieve their CREST Awards!

Project ideas & inspiration
Explore inspirational project ideas in our Resource Library, or get creative and develop your own! The student guides are packed with helpful hints and tips to assist you in running CREST with your students.

Investigative practical science in the curriculum

Find out how to build practical CREST projects into secondary science lessons using our downloadable 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. Download your own copy of the relevant mapping workbook below:
Download the England secondary curriculum mapping tool
Download the Northern Ireland secondary curriculum mapping tool

CREST project idea generation

Struggling to come up with a CREST project idea? Our question-generating document is here to help! It will guide you in generating a question that’s relevant to your daily life and interests. You’ll be able to narrow down topics that excite you and find a question that matters to both you and the world around you. CREST is all about tackling issues that spark your curiosity, so dive in and discover something that inspires you to learn more!

Related case studies
- Case studyPosted:10 October 2023
Bringing youth voice on mental health innovation to the table with CREST
- Case studyPosted:20 January 2023
Dunking a biscuit in tea? That can be a CREST Awards project!
- Case studyPosted:4 December 2024
A Gold CREST Awards case study: bringing AI into dementia healthcare
- Case studyPosted:4 April 2023
How CREST Awards can boost UCAS applications and university admission interviews
Hear from our community
"I found the Gold CREST Award experience so enjoyable that I went on to complete a second one! I learned a huge amount, not just about my chosen research topics, but other useful aspects like data collection/analysis, presentation and referencing. My communication skills and self confidence have also greatly benefited from my involvement and my Gold CREST Awards will add weight to future UCAS applications. I'd highly recommend anyone to get involved. There are opportunities suitable for all age groups and abilities with some projects only taking a few hours. You have nothing to lose and so much to gain!"
"It's made me think differently as a teacher. Now I bring in more career things and real life application [to lessons]. It's about trying to make everyone think that they are a STEM person because a lot of kids think ‘STEMs not for me, I'm not smart enough to be a STEM person’. For so many of our students, it would really make a difference school wide, not just in science. An increase in their confidence, an increase in independence, that would affect all of their subjects."
"My CREST journey has played a huge part in developing my curiosity, confidence and commitment to science and innovation. Through the Bronze and Silver Awards, I gained experience working collaboratively and independently on practical investigations, strengthening my ability to ask meaningful questions and find creative solutions. For my Gold Award, I have been managing an extended research project on my own, deepening my understanding of scientific methods, planning and resilience — all of which I’m proud to have built on my own initiative. "

We are here to help
Find answers to your questions quickly and easily with our Help Centre Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Whether you're just getting started with CREST Awards or looking for specific details on projects, resources, or submission guidelines, our comprehensive FAQs has you covered.
