28/09/2026
Scientific thinking in action 🔬🔍
Over the past week in Discovery Lab, our pupils began working towards the first stage of the CREST Awards, run by the British Science Association. Over the next few weeks, they will take part in a range of exciting challenges as they work towards earning their first certificate.
For their first challenge, they became raft designers! Their task was to create a raft and investigate how many marbles it could hold before sinking. They worked fabulously together, discussing which shapes and designs might be most successful.
A key focus of the challenge was testing, evaluating and improving. The girls quickly discovered that their first attempt was not always their best, and they used what they had learnt from each test to adapt their next design. They found that the shape of the base made a huge difference, with square and hexagonal designs proving particularly successful. Some groups even created clever ‘pockets’ in their rafts to keep the marbles secure and evenly distributed.
It was wonderful to see so much teamwork, perseverance and scientific thinking in action.
What a fantastic start to our CREST Award journey! 👏
