When the Answer Is 'We Don't Know Yet': CREST Projects at Bolitho
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Every science department has a collection of practicals that work. The instructions are clear, the apparatus is familiar and the intended result appears within a lesson. These practicals teach technique and confidence, and they are not the problem. The problem is that they can leave pupils with the impression that science is a tidy sequence leading to a known answer. This year's CREST Award projects at Bolitho offered a different picture. They were untidy, occasionally frustrating and sometimes inconclusive, and they modelled genuine scientific practice more faithfully than many textbook exercises.
What CREST asks pupils to do
The CREST Awards are run by the British Science Association. Primary pupils can begin with Star and SuperStar awards; secondary pupils can work through Discovery, Bronze, Silver and Gold. A project begins with a question that the pupil chooses, then requires a plan, a method, a record of evidence and a reflection on what went well and what did not. Pupils submit their evidence for assessment and receive a certificate at the appropriate level. It is not a competition and there is no single winner. That matters, because the award values the process rather than a polished display or a spectacular result.
Three projects from this year's cohort
One Year 6 pupil asked whether music affects the growth of cress. The first attempt seemed straightforward: three trays, three conditions and a weekly measurement. Within a fortnight the pupil discovered that the trays were not receiving equal light and that the temperature near the window varied. The project did not produce a clear answer, but it produced a clear lesson in variables, controls and fair testing. When the pupil presented the work, the most impressive slide was the one headed 'What I would change'.
A Year 8 pupil investigated air quality in different school corridors using a low-cost particulate sensor. The original question was which corridor had the most respirable particles. The data suggested that the canteen corridor was higher at lunchtime, but the pupil also found that humidity and sensor placement affected the readings. The conclusion was suitably cautious: one sensor and a few days of measurements could not answer the question fully. That caution was not a failure. It was the beginning of statistical thinking.
A Year 9 pupil compared invertebrate numbers in the school meadow with those on the mown lawn. Pitfall traps were set with staff supervision, animals were identified to broad groups and released unharmed. The meadow produced more beetles and spiders; the lawn produced more ants. The pupil had to decide whether the difference was caused by vegetation, moisture or sampling effort, and then explain why a repeat survey would be needed. A Year 10 pupil added a fourth project on puddle evaporation, finding that wind seemed to matter more than temperature on the days measured. The result was local, provisional and genuinely interesting.
What staff learned
The first lesson was about wait time. Pupils often need longer than a lesson to notice that their method is flawed, and staff had to resist the urge to rescue them too quickly. The second was about uncertainty. A null result or an ambiguous result is not a dead end; it is evidence that the question was more complicated than expected. The third was about ethics and safety. Projects involving sensors, weather, plants or invertebrates require risk assessment, supervision and a clear plan for what will happen to living things. None of this is beyond pupils, but it does require adults to act as advisers rather than directors.
Staff have since begun to use short 'uncertainty slots' in lessons, asking pupils what would change their mind and what evidence would be needed to settle a disagreement. The effect has been modest but noticeable: pupils are more willing to say that they do not know yet, and more willing to suggest a next step.
Supporting a child without taking over
Parents can help most by protecting the pupil's ownership of the project. Ask open questions: What are you trying to find out? What will you measure? What could go wrong? What would count as evidence? Help with logistics, transport, safety and a reliable place to record results, but avoid correcting the method midway through. A failed measurement is often more instructive than a perfect one completed by an adult. Encourage a written record with dates, times and sketches, and praise the quality of the thinking rather than the neatness of the poster. If a project is submitted for a CREST award, check the level and deadline with the science team early, and keep the scope small enough to finish.
CREST is not only for pupils who intend to become scientists. It is practice in asking questions, handling evidence and explaining uncertainty, which are useful to every citizen. The projects at Bolitho this year were not always successful in the narrow sense. They were, however, real. For that reason alone, they deserve a place in the school's science calendar.
