News CREST For Success! 05.12.2022

CREST awards were presented at Collyer’s this week. Biology students achieved 6 Gold awards, recognising 70 hours of research, and 4 silver awards which recognised 30 hours of research.

CREST is a scheme that inspires young people to think and behave like scientists and engineers. The awards are run by the British Science Association. Students can carry out a research project in any STEM  (Science Technology, Engineering and Maths) area and then have it assessed by an independent examiner to determine if they have met the criteria for the award.

Dr Avril Lynskey (Collyer’s Head of Biology) explained: “It is often said that CREST is the scientific equivalent to the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Students used their own ideas and came up with projects to work on independently during Collyer’s enrichment sessions.”

The awards were based on 15 criteria, including: planning, wider purpose of projects, methods used, results and referencing. The students also produced a poster of their work for the Collyer’s Science Festival in the summer, as part of their project, and wrote up their research before submission to CREST for assessment.

Asiya Colle achieved a Gold CREST award for her ‘Antibacterial Properties of Honey’ research, and Yvette Hardy also achieved Gold for the project ‘Effect of Nutrients on Plant Health’. Yvette related her project to herbal medicine and has applied to study dentistry. Molly Howard, who has applied to study veterinary medicine next year, achieved a Gold award for her research project ‘brachycephalic dogs’ while Ruth Ironmonger’s Gold was for the project ‘Causes and Influence of Telomere Shortening on Biological Ageing and Telomeres’.  Beatrice McMeekin was awarded Gold for ‘CRISPR as a Test for Cancer’ and Dorothy Mo’s Gold was for the project ‘Bleaching and Colouring Hair: How Does it Work?’

Sliver Awards were achieved by Lydia Binu ‘The Genome’, Chloe Farrow ‘Analysis of the Composition and Properties of a Soil Sample’,  Nele Kain ‘The Genome’, Alex Kent ‘The Genome’ and Leanne Morley for her project ‘What is the Effect of the Gut Biome on Mental Health’.

Dr Lynskey added: “I am very proud of the achievements of these students in obtaining Gold and Silver CREST Awards. I was impressed by their commitment in carrying out the research and practical work in their free time, on top of their studies. The CREST Awards will make their UCAS applications stand out and help them in their future careers.”

Dr Rob Hussey, Vice Principal (Curriculum) was delighted: “Massive congratulations to these students on their CREST success. Achieving these awards is extremely difficult, so their achievements should be celebrated. They are a credit to Collyer’s.”

Yvette Hardy