Ahead of last week’s launch in Paisley of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK ( the free

Can you firstly tell us a bit more about About Us and the event itself?

It’s one of the 10 UNBOXED projects, a celebration of STEAM and of creativity across the UK. We’re bringing poetry and STEM together and showing how they complement each other. It just takes a bit of imagination (and some fantastic technical know-how) to bring these different disciplines together.

In its simplest terms it’s a light show, part of a collaboration between Stemettes, 59 Productions (who create productions like this), and The Poetry Society, who work on poetry and the promotion of poetry. It aims to engage with young people, and engage them with STEM and STEAM. The light show takes you on a 30 million year journey from The Big Bang to us here in Paisley, looking at civilization, what happens with cells and early human life and how we’ve ended up here, looking up at Paisley Abbey and how we all are connected to the universe. Technically we’re all made of star stuff, so that that’s what the whole event is about, it’s a celebration of Paisley and its place in the universe.

We’ve done a lot of work in the community and in local schools in the last couple of months, working through poetry workshops, working through STEM and coding workshops, and so what the children have created is a big part of the light show as well. We’re hearing their poetry and seeing it, we’re seeing the avatars that they’ve created in elements of their animations.

Awe was the key word that we had in mind when we were pulling this together, so that’s in essence what the show is about – awe and bright lights and a celebration of Paisley.

Can you elaborate on the STEAM acronym for those maybe unfamiliar with it?

STEAM stands for science, technology, engineering, arts (and design), and maths – it represents a combination of all those disciplines. You can’t do STEM without art and design, without that creativity and expression. If you look at something like product design, it’s easy to see that the most impactful have that appreciation for the arts. All of them have leant into some of the skill sets that we have in the arts. Indeed, you’re much more likely to win a Nobel Prize in the sciences if you’ve engaged with the arts during your upbringing, which runs counter to the image people maybe have of scientists, that the best scientists have only ever done science and only ever do science. In fact, being able to recognise those softer artistic skill sets, combine them through collaboration and communication, that’s really where we solve problems properly.

So that’s the heart of STEAM and of course this About Us project and the whole of the UNBOXED Learning Programme.

Has asking schools to combine very different disciplines like this been a challenge?

When the proposition is explained clearly, and the benefits of this sort of cross-curricular work are articulated in a way that makes sense for schools, then we find buy-in comes pretty quickly. The resources that we’ve put together as part of this allow teachers to see for themselves how it can work in the classroom and benefit their pupils. Obviously, schools have been through a really tough time during the pandemic, and we’re now approaching exam season and all the stresses and demands that come with that, but fundamentally we’re aiming to build something here for the longer term and we really do hope, through the excitement of events like the light show, that we will inspire the younger generation to take their first steps on this great journey.

You are very passionate about this, where does your inspiration come from?

Creativity inspires me, curiosity about how things work and how the things we build create a legacy long after we’re gone. I took a VCR apart when I was younger, trying to understand how the cassette went into the machine, how the mechanism played the tape – basically breaking things down to understand how they fit together and how, once you understand that, you can solve problems with the knowledge you’ve gained.

Of course, once you talk about solving problems, then you can start working for the greater good – and that inspires me as well, the idea that things don’t always have to be harder, faster, stronger, bigger or whatever as an end in itself, rather that those attributes are really just a means to an end, and that the goal is using all of the resources at our disposal to make life better for all of us.

I’d also like to see us drawing on a much more diverse pool of talent than we do currently, and I’m inspired to realise that goal, because the more diverse the pool, the more diverse the voices we hear and the better the things we create will be.

How do you show children that STEAM is fun and not just “boring” technology?

Children like to play. If you give them the right environment to play and to create, who doesn’t want to express themselves?

Recently we were running a hack on Healthcare and getting young children to build apps. They loved it – I’m thinking of two little girls who spent the weekend building a house app because they had included talking fruit in their app and to them it was the most hilarious thing they’d ever seen. It’s one of those things where you don’t have to force them because they’ve made something, they’ve explored, they’ve played with the technology.

A couple of years ago we did a big data hack using Twitter and it was so interesting to see what interested the young people we had at the hack. One of them was obsessed with Chelsea Football Club and so that was what she dived into, analysing the Twitter feeds of Chelsea players at that point and generating infographics from them. Her little sister was obsessed with Build-a-Bear so she went around and collected some fantastic information on that. There was another girl who wanted to find  out the best member of One Direction.

Everyone has passions. Everyone sees problems that they’re very aware of, and they’re growing up with all of these, and so they’re really, really aware of what needs to be solved. They really care, and so I think it’s being able to show technology in that context, and allow people to get creative.

What age range are you targeting with the resources you mention?

Basically from 4 to 19, the gamut of primary and secondary education.

Knowing what you know about STEM in schools, do you think there’s enough collaboration between these disciplines in mainstream education, or do you think that there could be more focus on collaborating and skill sharing?

There could always be more. Collaboration is one of those things where the more you do, the more you learn, the better you get, so I think there’s definitely more that could be done. I do actually think it’s an interesting one. Teachers are between a rock and a hard place I think on this, because exams are not (for the most part) collaborative. Most SLTs have particular KPIs and metrics they look at to gauge how well their schools are doing, but I think with a bit of imagination these metrics can actually be made to work to provide a more collaborative setting in schools – for example, how can school leaders reward time that’s spent in collaboration? How can they reward this future skills work by teachers which is happening in their schools? Obviously, it does require investment, experimentation, and a little bit of thinking outside the box to give teachers agency to be able to try new things.

I think teachers do want to do this, but at the moment there’s a sense that there’s not enough positive reinforcement and support for those teachers when they do go a little bit outside the box, so we do certainly need more support and buy-in from SLTs to help build these core skills of collaboration – don’t forget, these skills are going to help close up the gaps that have been left by the pandemic and really address many of the issues around wellbeing and lost learning which we’re hearing so much about now.

UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK – funded by all four governments of the UK – is the biggest, most ambitious creative programme ever presented on these shores. The programme offers a once in a lifetime opportunity for pupils aged 4-19, to become immersed in science, technology, engineering, the arts and maths (STEAM), through a range of remarkable projects across the UK and FREE online learning experiences. Explore the free resources today https://unboxed2022.uk/learning-programme

Millions of young people across the UK are set to benefit from a unique schools’ programme that puts creativity and collaboration at the heart of learning based on real-world examples.

UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK is launching the programme designed to inspire young people, aged 4 to 19, with its creative projects showcasing collaborations across science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM).

The UNBOXED projects involve hundreds of events and activities across the UK and online, and cover a range of ideas, including space and science, the environment, growing and sustainability, and history and community. From a bio-diverse forest in a city centre to a North Sea offshore platform transformed into a giant artwork, schools can experience first-hand these creative successes when engineering and design, scientific research and technological innovation, including AR and artistic work, come together.

Designed by educators, teachers, technicians and artists with a wealth of experience in STEAM, this free learning programme from UNBOXED includes engaging and fun lesson plans, worksheets and presentations to stimulate young people’s creative thinking, encourage global citizenship and develop the skills they will need for the future of work. The resources are aligned to the curriculum across all home nations and suitable for enrichment and personal development. The programme is entirely flexible and offers a complete blend of class-based, online, real-world and location-based learning.

Resources currently available are linked to About Us, an immersive journey through 13.8 billion years of our history from the Big Bang to the present day; Our Place in Space, designed by renowned artist and writer Oliver Jeffers, which recreates the solar system as a 10-kilometre trail here on earth and Dreamachine, an artwork you ‘see’ with your eyes closed, which explores the human mind, as part of a massive research project into human perception.

Future resources will be based on StoryTrails, one of the biggest people’s history projects ever undertaken; Dandelion, a Scotland-wide growing project that reimagines the harvest festival for the 21st century; Green Space Dark Skies, which considers the environment and the UK’s beautiful landscapes; PoliNations, which is inspired by the fact that almost 80 per cent of the UK’s plant life originates from overseas; GALWAD: A story from our future, which projects the population into 2052, and SEE MONSTER, a feat of engineering and design that transforms a decommissioned off-shore North Sea platform into a space to playfully explore reflect the great British weather, reuse and sustainability.

According to a recent report from the Policy & Evidence Centre ”The promotion of creativity in educational settings can help young people build entrepreneurial skills and improve their future employability”. The UNBOXED Learning Programme recognises the importance for teachers to provide future skills-based and real-world learning to the classroom and seeks to reinvigorate creativity in every classroom in the UK. It believes creativity – our creativity – has the power to change the world.

Bhav Patel, Year 5 Teacher at West Hill Primary School, Staffordshire, said: “The resources we had from About Us were brilliant. They give children the ability to combine their creativity and science knowledge, through writing a poem based on space. It was so popular we had children asking to stay in rather than go out and play. The free resources are perfect for any teacher to just pick up and build into their lesson planning to increase engagement in the classroom and provide an exciting learning experience.”

UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK is the biggest and most ambitious creative programme ever presented on these shores. It is funded and supported by the four governments of the UK, and is co-commissioned with Belfast City Council, EventScotland and Creative Wales.

Explore the free resources and join the UNBOXED Learning Programme today: unboxed2022.uk/learning-programme

For 100 years Remembrance has reminded us of our shared history and the Legion’s new teaching resources will enable students from all backgrounds and communities to learn about the service and sacrifice of past and present generations. Designed for use in school and at home, pupils can discover how Britain’s national Remembrance traditions have evolved, engage in different community and national commemorations, and be encouraged to imagine what Remembrance might look like for them in the future.

Strengthening an existing line of Remembrance resources, the RBL’s 2021 teaching kits include new assembly plans, whole school projects and stories featuring award-winning authors Terry Pratchett and David Olusoga, each coming with helpful notes for parents and educators. The academic resources will enable students to learn how the poppy has become an enduring symbol of support for our Armed Forces, and can also be used in school assemblies to observe the two-minute silence on 11th November.

Available in English and Welsh, the resources for Key Stages 1-5 are linked to the national curriculum to develop core reading skills and are differentiated for students depending on their age, interests, and ability.

Catherine Davies, Head of Remembrance at The Royal British Legion says: “The RBL’s new Remembrance teaching resources will help children to understand why people of all faiths, cultures and backgrounds come together to remember the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces community. For 100 years Remembrance has been part of the fabric of society and teachers can use these lessons, activities and assemblies to show the next generation why we remember not only those from past conflicts, but those who continue to protect us today.”

Fay Lant, Head of School Programmes at the National Literacy Trust, says: “We are proud to have developed a variety of new teaching resources for schools and parents that offer a range of creative, engaging ways to mark Remembrance. Whether it’s taking part in the book club with stories from authors including Terry Pratchett and David Olusoga, or working with everyone in your school to develop a unique audio time capsule, there’s an activity to get everyone involved in Remembrance.”

The latest Teaching Remembrance Resources include:

• KS5 Understanding Remembrance Assembly: after the success of the KS1-4 Understanding Remembrance assemblies, the RBL has extended the reach of these popular assemblies to KS5 (16-18 years old). These are evergreen resources designed to introduce children to who, how and why we remember.
• KS1-5 2021 Remembrance Assemblies: the Remembrance assemblies engage children in Remembrance through a relevant and accessible annual narrative. In 2021 children and teenagers can explore 100 years of Remembrance through videos of veterans and civilians, learning that Remembrance honours all those who help to protect us.
• KS3 Remembrance Book Club stories: the book club engages children in Remembrance using a storytelling format that children are familiar with at school. The narratives demonstrate that the experiences of others, whether fictional or real, are relevant to our lives today. The book club is based on extracts from a range of authors including Terry Pratchett, Lucy Strange, David Olusoga, Liz Kessler, Tony Bradman, Phil Earle and Elizabeth Wein. The texts explore a range of topics including the experiences of Jewish children in the Second World War, the contribution of African and West Indian people to the war effort and rebuilding of Britain, and the impact of serving in Afghanistan on two brothers. A teacher guide and activity sheets for each extract are also included, featuring discussion questions and glossaries.
• Primary Whole School Project: the RBL’s new Sounds of Remembrance project for primary schools sees children work towards creating an audio time capsule which records the ways people in their community take part in Remembrance. Through a series of sessions children can learn how our national Remembrance traditions have evolved, discuss different community and national Remembrance traditions, and imagine what Remembrance might look like for them in the future.

The Royal British Legion’s free Teaching Remembrance resources can now be downloaded on the RBL’s website here: www.rbl.org.uk/teachingremembrance.

BBC Young Composer has launched countless musical careers since its inception in 1998. Formerly known as the BBC Proms Inspire competition, since rebranding in 2020 with a mission to reach a wider pool of talent, last year saw the highest ever number of entries. Entrants embraced a wide range of musical styles, with influences ranging from hip-hop and electronica to contemporary classical and orchestral film music. Inspiration for their works came from a wide variety of subjects including racial identity, the natural world and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The BBC is seeking musically-minded students aged 12 – 18 of all technical abilities, backgrounds, and musical influences to submit an original composition and recording. Any genre, any instruments, and any method of composing are welcome – music-makers may not think of themselves as a composer, but if they love to create their own original music then the BBC wants to hear from them. All compositions are judged anonymously and assessed on their compositional idea, creativity and originality.

Winners will be given the brilliant opportunity to participate in a tailored development programme working with a mentor composer on a project with the BBC Concert Orchestra, culminating in a performance or broadcast opportunity.

In what’s been a challenging year for so many young people, BBC Young Composer hopes to inspire young people from all over the UK to get creative and submit their work.

David Pickard, Director of BBC Proms, says: “There is a wealth of musical talent across the UK, and it’s more important than ever to nurture the next generation of music-makers from every style and genre. It’s been a privilege to watch previous winners develop as composers, and last year’s competition saw such variety – not only in musical style, but also in inspiration with thought-provoking themes explored. The BBC is incredibly proud to be able to offer these mentorship opportunities for young musical innovators and we look forward to hearing from aspiring composers working in all genres.”

The competition sits at the heart of BBC Young Composer, which has offered a platform for hundreds of young composers aged 12 – 18 from across the UK to further their artistic and professional ambitions. Many of today’s leading composers are counted in the outstanding list of BBC Young Composer alumni, including Shiva Feshareki, Kate Whitley, Alissa Firsova, Mark Simpson, Tom Harrold, and Duncan Ward.

BBC Young Composer remains committed to assisting its alumni in launching their careers through its Ambassador scheme, connecting composers to commissioning opportunities at the BBC. Recent alumni, including Grace-Evangeline Mason, Alex Woolf, Xia Leon Sloane and Sarah Jenkins, have been commissioned by BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, BBC Concert Orchestra and BBC Proms.

The judging panel for the 2021 Young Composer Competition will be announced in due course.

Entries close at 5pm on Monday 28 June, and the competition is open to young people aged 12-18 (at the closing date). Please visit bbc.co.uk/youngcomposer to find the rules of the competition and how to enter.

Mother Tongue Other Tongue is a national multilingual poetry competition that celebrates cultural diversity and the many languages currently spoken in schools across the UK. The competition aims to celebrate languages, culture and language-learning, allowing secondary school students to practice and improve their foreign language skills and appreciate their heritage using poetry.

The competition was originally developed by the Faculty of Humanities, Languages and Social Science at Manchester Metropolitan University and Routes into Languages North West. It has since rolled out across the country and become a nationally recognised award, with students from all over the UK competing for the annual prize. Mother Tongue Other Tongue is officially endorsed by Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner and education activist.

This year, ‘other tongue’ entries required an original poem written in a language that is not the first language spoken by the student writing it. Entries could be provided in Spanish, German, Italian, or French.

Kirsty initially entered the competition during the height of the coronavirus pandemic that saw schools close and students study from home, attending all of their classes virtually. The competition was suggested to Kirsty by her French teacher at Stratford Girls’ Grammar School as an extra way to apply herself with language learning during this time.

Kirsty said, “I enjoy linguistic challenges like these as they are always a bit like a puzzle. I wasn’t expecting to finish the poem at first,  because I thought it would be too difficult to get it to rhyme or to keep a coherent theme throughout. But after writing each verse, I discovered I really enjoyed constructing each line. In the end, I created something that I was proud of, regardless of the competition results. When I found out that I had been named the winner, I was really over the moon. It was definitely a confidence boost before taking my mock French exam the next day!”

In addition to being named this years KS5 French winner, Kirsty also received an Amazon gift voucher. Stephanie Wood is Head of Modern Foreign Language studies at Stratford Girls’ Grammar School, she said,

“We are very proud of what Kirsty has achieved with her fantastic poem and ongoing commitment to learning. Competitions like Mother Tongue Other Tongue are incredibly welcomed by our school as they help broaden students understanding beyond the classroom, which is especially important after the unexpected lockdown situation earlier this year. Students have now returned to our school, but we are still encouraging them to enter more competitions, such as those celebrating the European Day of Languages this month. Congratulations once again to Kirsty for her well-deserved win and prize.”

The Jobcentre Plus Support for Schools programme targets young people ages 12-18 who are at particular risk of being out of education, employment or training (NEET) or who face disadvantages when looking for work. It began in November 2016 as a pilot across 10 districts, and has since rolled out nationally across England with over 1,400 schools participating following positive feedback from teachers and pupils.

Despite more than 90% of 15-19 year olds now being in employment, education or training, there is still work to be done to ensure that all young people get access to the right skills to succeed in the labour market.

The Minister for Employment, Alok Sharma, said: “The Jobcentre Plus Support for Schools programme is a strong example of how local jobcentres and schools are coming together to help young people realise their true potential.

“I’ve been encouraged by my discussions with students about how much of a positive difference this has made to their confidence and career prospects. We are committed to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to get into work and, quite importantly, a role they enjoy.”

Jobcentre staff were seen as a credible addition to teachers when providing employment advice and tips on writing CVs, conducting mock interviews and feedback sessions as well as holding industry taster days. They were also able to offer advice on apprenticeships, traineeships and the job market in the local area.

Jobcentre Support for Schools Advisor Rose Marie, who helped to run the programme, said: “The programme is a great opportunity to raise the aspirations of the young people by exploring opportunities available and examining career options that they might not have otherwise looked into.

“I was able to help them to focus their attention and efforts on building and achieving their goals, where possible exceeding them, and because we worked directly with the school, the programme complimented what was already being provided, adding real value.”

The programme was especially effective for Pupil Referral Units (PRUs), which are schools that cater for those students at increased risk of becoming NEET.

One of the headteachers involved with the programme said: “I was really surprised at how they were able to engage with our [PRU] students… the students genuinely seemed to engage, which we’ve not had with other providers.”

Thanks to the work of Jobcentre Plus advisors up and down the country, and the willingness to work from the pupils involved, many of them now have the necessary skills to thrive in the workplace and to take the first steps in their careers.

The timeline features images of the kind of evidence that exists for Britain’s oldest inhabitants: footprints, bones and tools, as well as interactive maps showing important archaeological sites around the country. Through a series of visuals, the timeline illustrates the changing climate and geography of Britain – as it evolved from being a part of the same landmass as France, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, to its eventual isolation as an island.

The timeline works well alongside other Historic England online resources, for example the teaching notes, presentations and activities exploring life in Bronze Age Britain through the exciting story of the recent excavation at Must Farm in Cambridgeshire; and a whole range of images for the period featuring archaeological sites around the country, tools and remains and modern reconstructions of homes and settlements.

Catherine McHarg, Archive Education Manager at Historic England said: “Our new interactive timeline is a really easy way into learning about prehistory – while still providing high quality, detailed and accurate information for teachers to work from. Teachers have told us that it can be a tricky topic, partly because many of them have not had the opportunity to learn much about the subject before they teach it. On top of that, they are sometimes battling preconceptions with children thinking that prehistory only means the dinosaurs! We hope by bringing all the information together into one place we can help put the period into context for teachers and their pupils – having a dynamic visual prompt of the chronology is a really effective way of doing that.”

The tool is the latest addition to the popular library of free resources and teaching aids on HistoricEngland.org.uk/Education. The library includes themed collections of images (including castles, cathedrals, children at work and crime and punishment), as well as ready made presentations and worksheets linked to the curriculum.

All Historic England’s education content has recently been updated and re-presented on its new website.

Catherine McHarg added: “We’re constantly updating what we offer to keep pace with changes in the curriculum and in response to what teachers tell us they need. We’re particularly focused on supporting teachers in working with local heritage, because apart from the difficulty some schools have in working out how to meet the curriculum requirements on this topic, we know that engaging children in the history they see around them every day is one of the best ways of exciting them about the subject. Local heritage projects are also a great way of galvanising children’s pride in their local area and helping them understand the broader span of history and where they fit.”

Historic England has also curated around 10,000 archive and modern images specifically for teachers. The collection offers a comprehensive resource teachers can draw on to illustrate almost any topic or geographical region – the most popular images include a 1920s image of the Bryant and May match factory in London (birthplace of the first British trade union for women), a striking image of Victorian foundrymen in Maidenhead, and World War I Land Army girls at work in the fields of Devon.

See the gallery of the most popular education images, and stills from the new prehistory timeline here.

Digital Advantage was set up in response to feedback from creative and digital employers who think the national curriculum and classroom careers advice is failing to equip school leavers with the skills and experience needed to fill thousands of digital jobs.

Employers report that schools do not have the technical know-how, latest careers information or relevant work experience links needed to prepare pupils for common roles such as web design, advertising, software development, marketing, social media, mobile technology and e-commerce.

Earlier this month MPs from the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee warned that the UK needs another 745,000 workers with digital skills by 2017. The ‘Digital Skills Crisis’ report identified that the skills gap costs the economy around £63bn a year in lost income.

Digital Advantage is working with over 500 students aged 16-18 from 20 schools and colleges in Greater Manchester and Lancashire and has been developed in line with the government’s drive to extend after-school activities. It has developed a two-term digital enterprise course that brings industry experts into school classrooms to teach the latest digital employability skills and provide real-world careers advice.

Twenty four hours of teaching and mentoring helps young people to understand the digital industries and give them the skills they need to get into it. The course has been designed by industry to help pupils develop new business ideas, use the latest digital technologies, create portfolios of their own work and improve core skills in communication, team work and problem solving.

Teachers receive training on how to prepare students for the digital workplace and integrate digital skills development into existing lessons. They also get support with setting up school coding clubs and digital holiday camps. Students benefit from work place visits, inspirational talks from industry experts and, this year, the chance to win a £5,000 start-up prize for creating a digital business.

The scheme encourages sixth formers to consider an apprenticeship in the creative and digital industries straight from school rather than going to university. It aims to help 16-18 year olds secure well-paid, entry level digital jobs, straight from school.

Every sixth former that completes Digital Advantage’s course is guaranteed an interview with a digital company for one of over 200 apprenticeships in the North West region.

Bernie Furey, assistant head teacher at St Ambrose Barlow RC High School in Salford said: “Digital Advantage has given the pupils a flavour of what it would be like to work in the creative and digital industries. Some of our highest achieving pupils are now considering a career in these industries, something which they previously would not have considered.”

Jackie Holt, managing partner at communications agency BJL and the IPA’s (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) North West City Head said: “As both an agency head and a mum of a 14 year old boy, I’m very impressed by the opportunity that Digital Advantage brings to schools, teachers, kids and even parents. Schools need to forge better links with working environments, showcasing the type of real-life challenges that their pupils are going to face in 2-3 years. Teachers need support to be able to deliver that insight and knowledge so initiatives that provide real briefs can be inspirational. Kids are exposed to working collaboratively, under pressure and importantly with a competitive perspective – something that they definitely will face in the working world.”

Andy Lovatt, managing director of The White Room, which delivers Digital Advantage said: “We want to show high achieving sixth formers that university isn’t their only option. Creative, technical and business brains are desperately needed right across digital industry. Students that get apprenticeships through Digital Advantage will benefit from high quality work experience, respected qualifications and good starting salaries; giving them a head start in the digital industries over young people coming out of university.”

Digital Advantage is funded by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, City Deal Apprenticeship Hub Funding.

For further information, please go to www.digitaladvantage.org.uk

The Prince’s Trust Achieve programme is a flexible provision for 13-19 year olds who are experiencing challenges with attendance, attainment or motivation and may be at risk of exclusion or not attaining the grades they are capable of. It incorporates the best of the youth charity’s existing xl and Fairbridge programmes, which have long helped young people of school age to reach their potential, both in education and in their future employment.

The need for alternative curriculum offerings like Achieve remains clear, with a third of school-leavers still not achieving five A*-C grade GCSEs and more than half of young people in Scotland not achieving 5 National Fives. The situation is even worse for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, who are far more likely to fail to achieve at these levels than their peers.

The new Achieve programme is designed to help disadvantaged young people who are struggling to develop important character skills through relevant, engaging and informal learning. It will connect young people with the world of work and equip them with the transferrable skills and knowledge they need to succeed, focusing particularly on literacy, language and numeracy (LLN) and science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

According to Richard Chadwick, Director of Programmes and Development at The Prince’s Trust, “Too many students in the UK become disengaged with education and leave school or college with few qualifications, low levels of confidence and low aspirations for the future. We have a long history of working successfully with education providers to combat this problem and have drawn on our expertise in youth based work to develop our new Achieve programme, which is our most flexible provision yet for people of school age.”

Young people will be able to access Achieve from August 2016 in schools, colleges or, in some regions, at a Prince’s Trust Centre. Further Education providers can also deliver the programme as NEET prevention, either as a part time study programme or as part of a full time study programme.

This year, The Prince’s Trust will work with more than 500 partner schools and organisations to support almost 10,000 young people through the Achieve programme. More information about how a school, college or alternative education provider can deliver the Achieve programme can be found at https://www.princes-trust.org.uk/help-for-young-people/unlock-your-potential/achieve

The report, conducted by a group of volunteer economists, is the first independent review of its kind on the effect that undertaking practical, hands-on science projects can have on student attainment and subject choice.  The findings include:

• Students who took Silver CREST achieved half a grade higher on their best science GCSE result compared to a statistically matched control group.
• Students who undertake a CREST Silver Award are 21% more likely to take a STEM AS Level. 82% of Silver CREST students took a STEM AS Level, compared to 68% of a statistically matched control group.
• Silver CREST students eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) saw a larger increase in their best science GCSE (two thirds of a grade) compared to a matched control group who were also eligible for FSM.
• Students who were eligible for Free School Meals and took part in a CREST Silver Award were 38% more likely to take a STEM subject at AS Level than the matched control group.
• Students who undertake Silver CREST have higher average GCSE grades compared to those who did not do a CREST Silver Award.
• The sample for this analysis included 2.4 million Key Stage 4 students (of whom 3,800 took CREST Silver) and 1.0 million Key Stage 5 students (of whom 2,300 took a Silver CREST Award).
• Half (50%) of students taking Silver CREST Awards were young women.

CREST Awards is the BSA’s flagship education programme, which allows 11 to 19-year-olds to explore real-world science, technology, engineering and maths by curating a unique hands-on project. It is a practical science intervention, which seeks to broaden students’ interest in science and encourage them to continue with STEM subjects.

There are four levels of Awards in the CREST programme; Discovery, Bronze, Silver and Gold, which each require increasing amounts of teacher and student time and mentor involvement.  The analysis in this report, Quantifying CREST: what impact does the Silver CREST Award have on science scores and subject selection?, focuses on students in English state schools aged 14-16 who took part in CREST Silver Awards between 2010 and 2013.

Imran Khan, Chief Executive of the British Science Association, said:

“In the 30 years that the CREST Awards have been running, we’ve known that doing practical, creative science & technology projects have increased students’ enjoyment and understanding of science – but it’s fantastic to now have quantitative evidence of their impact on academic attainment, too. We’ve found that students who do these kinds of projects through the CREST framework also get better GCSEs and are more likely to pick STEM AS Levels.

“As a society, we need more and more young people who are curious about, and comfortable with, science – not least to ensure that we have a competitive economy and vibrant culture – so we hope that this report encourages more young people, teachers, schools, and parents to explore science and technology through the CREST Awards.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the whole team at Pro Bono Economics who have volunteered many hours of their own time to produce this report, and to make some excellent recommendations for the BSA and education sector to take forward for the future.”

In order to conduct the research for this report, data collected by the BSA on students starting Silver CREST Awards between 2010 and 2013, was linked to data in the National Pupil Database. This enabled the authors (Rosie Stock Jones, Tom Annable, Zoe Billingham and Cee MacDonald) to bring together information on CREST participants with pupil characteristics, attainment and subject selection data.

Propensity Score Matching was used to create a control group of students who did not take part in CREST, but had similar characteristics to those who did. Key Stage 2 (KS2) SATs results were used to control for prior attainment. Other control variables included gender, ethnicity, region of school, year of GCSEs, participation in triple award science, type of school, free school meal status in the six years prior to taking GCSEs and the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI).

Karen Hancock, Economist, Pro Bono Economics, and Ex-Chief Economist, Department for Education, said:

“There are always caveats with this type of analysis, but the results suggest that students participating in the Silver CREST Awards achieve about half a grade higher on their best science GCSE result on average compared with a statistically-similar control group. Silver CREST students were also 21% more likely to take a STEM AS level subject than control group students.  We hope that the results of this report will support the British Science Association in making a case for encouraging greater uptake of the CREST Awards in schools.”

The authors have made several recommendations for further work, including replicating this analysis through a Randomised Control Trial, broadening it to cover Discovery, Bronze and Gold Award types and conducting a cost benefit analysis for schools.