1. Choose an interesting issue, problem, question, or topic. Discuss your ideas with others then prepare a project proposal to send to the CREST National Office. Keep a log. The information that you provide is used by the CREST Silver Approver to confirm that your ideas will be suitable for a CREST project. The Approver will look at the following questions when considering your project: is your project safe? is it ethical? is it feasible? is it challenging? is it a CREST project? Download the 'Approving Silver CREST' document here (Acrobat, 53kb) to see exactly what is being looked for. 
   
   There are four possible responses the approver can make to the Silver CREST project proposals. These are:
   
   a)  Approved
   Your project appears entirely suitable and you can make a start on work immediately.
   
   b)  Provisionally Approved
   Your project is mostly suitable but the approver has one or two reservations. They will provide an explanation for these, and make any helpful suggestions they can. Your assessor will make the final decision on approving the project at the time of the progress assessment, when you have carried out more exploratory activities and your project is more defined.
   
   c)  Not Approved: Please Resubmit
   This means that your project topic has potential, but your actual proposal is not suitable for CREST Silver. The approver may include comments and suggestions on how it can be changed to make it acceptable as a CREST Silver project.
   
   d)  Not Approved
   Unfortunately some project topics are not suitable for CREST projects. If you receive this response you will have to think of another subject for your project. The approver may be able to offer some suggestions for a project in the same general area.
   
2. Explore your ideas. Try some activities. Keep your log.
   
3. Talk to your Consultant.
   
4. Clarify your aim.
   
5. Plan what you'll do on the timeline. Complete the Progress Assessment (p 12) with your assessor.
   
6. Carry out your plan. Make any improvements and modifications that you need to. Keep your log up-to-date.
   
7. Compile your Report.
   
8. Self-assess your project using the Criteria for Assessment sheet (p 14). When all is complete, have your final meeting with your assessor.
   
9. Congratulations! Prepare to receive your Silver CREST Certificate and Badge.

To apply for CREST Silver contact CREST at the Royal Society of New Zealand: crest@rsnz.org. 

Gold CREST

Completion of the Silver CREST Award is a pre-requisite for completing a Gold Award, to ensure the experience and skill-level required for Gold has been attained. 

Students involved in the Gold CREST Award develop their projects largely as a result of their own initiative, with guidance from a number of support personnel: a supervising teacher, a consultant and two assessors (one to assess the CREST criteria, the other to assess the scientific/technical aspects of the project).

A Gold CREST project is expected to take at least 100 hours, about two and a half times as long as a Silver CREST project. This takes most candidates a full year to complete. The greater level of achievement in terms of creativity, perseverance and application which is expected in Gold projects necessitates a more complex project structure and content.

This means that a Gold CREST project requires:

1. more effort in developing a project proposal;
2. a higher level of research;
3. a greater number of project meetings between the student and their support personnel;
4. greater depth of design/experimental work;
5. more research, data analysis and interpretation;
6. a seminar to be presented.

Guidance for students working on the Gold award is largely obtained through a series of meetings:

1. a project outline meeting;
2. a project proposal meeting;
3. a project progress meeting;
4. and a project final assessment meeting.

To apply for Gold CREST contact CREST at the Royal Society of New Zealand: jessie.mckenzie@rsnz.org.