The Student Room Group

Gold Crest Award Help

Not sure if this is the correct category for this, but anyway, I would like some information about the Gold Crest Award.

I need some answers to some questions I have about this award, as I can't find any information about these things online.

So, anybody who has done or is currently doing the Gold crest award, or just knows a lot about it, could answer my questions. Please make yourselves known to me on this thread, then I will post my queries.

Thanks.

Posted from TSR Mobile
Reply 1
I did it last summer, might be able to answer some questions :h:
Reply 2
Original post by Alexion
I did it last summer, might be able to answer some questions :h:


Thank you!

Firstly, how long does it take to complete (70 hours is what I read), as in how many hours a day, for how many weeks? And when did you do yours, in the summer of Year 11/12, or Year 12/13?

Where do you actually do the Gold Crest Award? I haven't talked to my 'local co-ordinator' yet, but I'm guessing they set you up in some place, but where and what's it like?

If I wanted to do it this summer, then when would I talk to my 'local co-ordinator' about doing it? Do you have to go meet them in person, or can everything be sorted out over e-mail or phone?

These questions are it for now, thanks for your time, if you could answer these, it would be a big help :u:
Reply 3
Original post by Ishan_2000
Thank you!

Firstly, how long does it take to complete (70 hours is what I read), as in how many hours a day, for how many weeks? And when did you do yours, in the summer of Year 11/12, or Year 12/13?

Where do you actually do the Gold Crest Award? I haven't talked to my 'local co-ordinator' yet, but I'm guessing they set you up in some place, but where and what's it like?

If I wanted to do it this summer, then when would I talk to my 'local co-ordinator' about doing it? Do you have to go meet them in person, or can everything be sorted out over e-mail or phone?

These questions are it for now, thanks for your time, if you could answer these, it would be a big help :u:


I did it over last summer (12/13) and I guess it isn't so much a typical example, so I'm not sure how much help this'll be tbh

I found out about some STEM placements being organised by a group called Science Oxford, who were putting people into summer apprenticeship / research-based placements and giving guidance on submitting the report for a CREST Gold award afterwards.

I had a 4-week placement (8h per day, so 160h total) with a web-development company called White October. Spent the first fortnight learning the basics of what they do and to program in the languages they use, and the second two weeks producing a raspberry-pi-based monitoring system for the services they manage and sites they host.

You'll get a supervisor within the company who should be familiar with placement students or even the whole CREST system.

The report I did based on the placement (I can send it to you if you'd like to have a look) was then submitted for the award, specifically based around the development of the system I mentioned I worked on in the second couple of weeks.

All initial correspondence with the co-ordinators (SO) was via email, and I only met them in person at the launch event, a visit during the placement, and a kind of 'award-giving' event a month after the placement had ended.

Generally, CREST Gold awards are for research placements - mine was kinda unique though there were definitely parallels with the other students' placements.

So yeah, let me know if you have any more questions or want me to send you the report :h:
Reply 4
Original post by Alexion
I did it over last summer (12/13) and I guess it isn't so much a typical example, so I'm not sure how much help this'll be tbh

I found out about some STEM placements being organised by a group called Science Oxford, who were putting people into summer apprenticeship / research-based placements and giving guidance on submitting the report for a CREST Gold award afterwards.

I had a 4-week placement (8h per day, so 160h total) with a web-development company called White October. Spent the first fortnight learning the basics of what they do and to program in the languages they use, and the second two weeks producing a raspberry-pi-based monitoring system for the services they manage and sites they host.

You'll get a supervisor within the company who should be familiar with placement students or even the whole CREST system.

The report I did based on the placement (I can send it to you if you'd like to have a look) was then submitted for the award, specifically based around the development of the system I mentioned I worked on in the second couple of weeks.

All initial correspondence with the co-ordinators (SO) was via email, and I only met them in person at the launch event, a visit during the placement, and a kind of 'award-giving' event a month after the placement had ended.

Generally, CREST Gold awards are for research placements - mine was kinda unique though there were definitely parallels with the other students' placements.

So yeah, let me know if you have any more questions or want me to send you the report :h:


Those are very helpful answers, useful details to know! Sounds very interesting too. I don't need to see your report, but thanks for the offer :smile:

Another question I have is, if you don't mind, when should I apply for all this if I wanted to do this 4-week placement this summer? Also, do you know if these placements are only available in the summer? For example, could I possibly spread this placement over a couple of months, or do the 4 weeks have to be consecutive weeks?

Roughly how long did they take to reply by e-mail? I am asking this because my current DofE leader takes at least 2 weeks before replying to my e-mails, and I hope I don't have a similar experience with the Crest Award.
Reply 5
Original post by Ishan_2000
Those are very helpful answers, useful details to know! Sounds very interesting too. I don't need to see your report, but thanks for the offer :smile:

Another question I have is, if you don't mind, when should I apply for all this if I wanted to do this 4-week placement this summer? Also, do you know if these placements are only available in the summer? For example, could I possibly spread this placement over a couple of months, or do the 4 weeks have to be consecutive weeks?

Roughly how long did they take to reply by e-mail? I am asking this because my current DofE leader takes at least 2 weeks before replying to my e-mails, and I hope I don't have a similar experience with the Crest Award.


This summer? ASAP. DON'T WAIT. By this point in the year some places might have already closed applications for summer placements.

Communications with my co-ordinator were pretty much instant (during daytime hours), but that's just down to the person you're communicating with and how bothered they can be to reply quickly.

I'm pretty sure it has to be a full-time placement but I'm not sure :/ have you directed any of these questions to your co-ordinator?
Reply 6
Original post by Alexion
This summer? ASAP. DON'T WAIT. By this point in the year some places might have already closed applications for summer placements.

Communications with my co-ordinator were pretty much instant (during daytime hours), but that's just down to the person you're communicating with and how bothered they can be to reply quickly.

I'm pretty sure it has to be a full-time placement but I'm not sure :/ have you directed any of these questions to your co-ordinator?


Actually, I was just considering doing this award, I have not definitely chosen to do this, so I have not as of yet spoken to any co-ordinator about applying or registering.

Anyway, I have already booked some work experience for this summer, so I will most likely not have enough time to have a full time 4 week placement. Therefore, I will probably apply to do this next summer. However, my only worry is that it may be too late (?) next summer, as I am aspiring to apply to Oxbridge, so will have to meet the early October deadline for my Personal Statement. I hope that doing this crest award won't affect my Personal Statement in any way next year.

So, the report that needs to be written for this crest award, how long is it (words/pages)? (How long was yours?) And how long did it take for you to complete (hours), or was it an ongoing thing over the 4 weeks?

Were you successful btw? (curious) :curious:
Reply 7
Original post by Ishan_2000
Actually, I was just considering doing this award, I have not definitely chosen to do this, so I have not as of yet spoken to any co-ordinator about applying or registering.

Anyway, I have already booked some work experience for this summer, so I will most likely not have enough time to have a full time 4 week placement. Therefore, I will probably apply to do this next summer. However, my only worry is that it may be too late (?) next summer, as I am aspiring to apply to Oxbridge, so will have to meet the early October deadline for my Personal Statement. I hope that doing this crest award won't affect my Personal Statement in any way next year.

So, the report that needs to be written for this crest award, how long is it (words/pages)? (How long was yours?) And how long did it take for you to complete (hours), or was it an ongoing thing over the 4 weeks?

Were you successful btw? (curious) :curious:


Ah, oki :smile: definitely recommend it btw, it'll only bolster your PS (which doesn't take that long to write, people are just bad at getting it done)

Yes, I was, and my report was about 5000 words total, coming to 11 pages (including pics etc.). I did it all in the week following the placement (before I went back to school in Sept.), so some of the stuff from the start was a little hazy, but it seemed a good way to do it :h:

Spoiler

Reply 8
Original post by Alexion
Ah, oki :smile: definitely recommend it btw, it'll only bolster your PS (which doesn't take that long to write, people are just bad at getting it done)

Yes, I was, and my report was about 5000 words total, coming to 11 pages (including pics etc.). I did it all in the week following the placement (before I went back to school in Sept.), so some of the stuff from the start was a little hazy, but it seemed a good way to do it :h:

Spoiler



Your report looks very nice and professional! :smile: Thanks for your time in answering my questions, very helpful answers! :h:
Reply 9
Original post by Ishan_2000
Your report looks very nice and professional! :smile: Thanks for your time in answering my questions, very helpful answers! :h:


No problem :five:
Reply 10
Original post by Alexion
I did it last summer, might be able to answer some questions :h:


Not to high jack someone elses post- but I was wondering if I could ask you for some help??? @Alexion

Im also applying my research placement for the Gold Crest Award and wanted to ask you about how you structured your report? Kind of like what sub headings you gave and how much time/space you spent on each of the subheadings?? Hope this is okay )
Original post by __ny01
Not to high jack someone elses post- but I was wondering if I could ask you for some help??? @Alexion

Im also applying my research placement for the Gold Crest Award and wanted to ask you about how you structured your report? Kind of like what sub headings you gave and how much time/space you spent on each of the subheadings?? Hope this is okay )


Hi, no problem :cute:

I don't know if you saw the post above but that shows the report as a whole and generally how much space I dedicated to each section.

I probably spent around 2 or 3 days dedicated to writing this in total, though it could easily have been less - it was very easy to write as it was more of a recount of my experience and what I achieved. I was a bit unusual in the fact that mine wasn't actually a research placement but I fulfilled the criteria with my project anyway.

The sub-headings were:

- Introduction - a basic intro to the industry sector, the company and what I'd be doing.
- White October - a more detailed look at the company's structure and what they do.
- WordPress
- The 555 Puzzle
- Databases
- Finalising the 555 Project
- The Raspberry Pi
- Freeboard
- max7219
- The Final Day - all of the above were the actual recount of the project. Each section was between 1 and 5 paragraphs and introduced the equipment I was working with, how I made use of it and the next steps for the project.
- Note on Health/Safety - pretty self explanatory but necessary for the crest award structure.
- Personal Reflections - a few paragraphs on everything I'd learned over the project and how it influenced my decisions about what I want to do in the future.
- Bibliography
- Acknowledgements - again both very self explanatory but necessary.

If you have more questions don't hesitate to ask :cute:
Original post by Alexion
Hi, no problem :cute:

I don't know if you saw the post above but that shows the report as a whole and generally how much space I dedicated to each section.

I probably spent around 2 or 3 days dedicated to writing this in total, though it could easily have been less - it was very easy to write as it was more of a recount of my experience and what I achieved. I was a bit unusual in the fact that mine wasn't actually a research placement but I fulfilled the criteria with my project anyway.

The sub-headings were:

- Introduction - a basic intro to the industry sector, the company and what I'd be doing.
- White October - a more detailed look at the company's structure and what they do.
- WordPress
- The 555 Puzzle
- Databases
- Finalising the 555 Project
- The Raspberry Pi
- Freeboard
- max7219
- The Final Day - all of the above were the actual recount of the project. Each section was between 1 and 5 paragraphs and introduced the equipment I was working with, how I made use of it and the next steps for the project.
- Note on Health/Safety - pretty self explanatory but necessary for the crest award structure.
- Personal Reflections - a few paragraphs on everything I'd learned over the project and how it influenced my decisions about what I want to do in the future.
- Bibliography
- Acknowledgements - again both very self explanatory but necessary.

If you have more questions don't hesitate to ask :cute:


Hey, I know its been a year approximately since this thread was active but needed some more guidance and information on my application for Gold Crest award. I'm pretty much finishing my 4 week placement this week and have about 70% of my report complete, so I think im in a good position. I realised the fact I need to hand a report and a student profile. But when do I submit it, is there a period or is it whenever you want? I'm applying for Oxbridge therefore, would like to state the possession of this award in my ps before October deadline this year. So how long did it take after you submitted to receive a response?? Thanks so much
(edited 6 years ago)
How long does it take to get the award after sending off the application? thanks in advance
Reply 14
Original post by Butterflyshy
How long does it take to get the award after sending off the application? thanks in advance


It takes them up to two weeks.
How do they verify the 70 hours, surely i can just write a report and make it sound like i did the 70 hours and submit it? Do i need a supervisor like for an EPQ? what if i pretended to be this person too?
Original post by Alexion
I did it over last summer (12/13) and I guess it isn't so much a typical example, so I'm not sure how much help this'll be tbh

I found out about some STEM placements being organised by a group called Science Oxford, who were putting people into summer apprenticeship / research-based placements and giving guidance on submitting the report for a CREST Gold award afterwards.

I had a 4-week placement (8h per day, so 160h total) with a web-development company called White October. Spent the first fortnight learning the basics of what they do and to program in the languages they use, and the second two weeks producing a raspberry-pi-based monitoring system for the services they manage and sites they host.

You'll get a supervisor within the company who should be familiar with placement students or even the whole CREST system.

The report I did based on the placement (I can send it to you if you'd like to have a look) was then submitted for the award, specifically based around the development of the system I mentioned I worked on in the second couple of weeks.

All initial correspondence with the co-ordinators (SO) was via email, and I only met them in person at the launch event, a visit during the placement, and a kind of 'award-giving' event a month after the placement had ended.

Generally, CREST Gold awards are for research placements - mine was kinda unique though there were definitely parallels with the other students' placements.

So yeah, let me know if you have any more questions or want me to send you the report :h:


Could you by any chance send it to me, I cant find any examples and I wanted to know the layout of it
Reply 17
Ours is 2 year
Reply 18
Original post by Ishan_2000
Those are very helpful answers, useful details to know! Sounds very interesting too. I don't need to see your report, but thanks for the offer :smile:

Another question I have is, if you don't mind, when should I apply for all this if I wanted to do this 4-week placement this summer? Also, do you know if these placements are only available in the summer? For example, could I possibly spread this placement over a couple of months, or do the 4 weeks have to be consecutive weeks?

Roughly how long did they take to reply by e-mail? I am asking this because my current DofE leader takes at least 2 weeks before replying to my e-mails, and I hope I don't have a similar experience with the Crest Award.


Mine took a year
Reply 19
Original post by mrryy
Mine took a year


Mine is still not complete...help

Quick Reply

Latest