Super-Curricular Experience

At Clarion we encourage students to develop their interests and pursue achievements beyond the classroom as part of their growth as independent learners. One opportunity available to students in STEM is the Crest Award projects.

This year Yara in Year 13 took part in the Gold Crest Award for Chemistry. This is an independent project where students can submit a research project of their own design. We spoke to Yara about her research project and work experience.

The Research Project: Pharmaceutical Administration and Solubility of Drug

• Could you introduce your research project and why you decided to start?

So I started a project that was testing a multi-vitamin drug. The cognitive ability product from a brand called Neuromind. I was testing it on different PHs to see its solubility, to replicate how it works in the body. So when you do take a drug, it will be absorbed in both your stomach and small intestine, which both have different conditions in the stomach will be more acidic, whilst the small intestine is more alkaline.

So to represent that I crushed the drug and tested its solubility using a calorimeter in the different PHs and a higher solubility would show more absorbance, which would replicate how it works inside the body.

I began the project because I want to go into pharmaceutical or medicinal chemistry and drug manufacturing. So I thought it would be a really good starter before I go to university. To get an insight into what I'd be doing and what I'm basically going to be doing for a living.

• Where does your passion for chemistry come from and what inspired you?

Honestly, at first I guess it was a lot of just studying in school, starting A-levels made me realise this is what I like. Initially, when I was in secondary school, I didn't like science at all, but when I chose Science for A-levels, especially A-level chemistry, I think it was the first time I got an A and A* and I realised, okay, I can do it and I realised I actually do like it.

I enjoyed studying it and researching deeper even to areas outside of school and I tried work experience. There was an internship as well in the summer in a lab. It wasn't in pharmaceuticals, it was in biochemistry, but it was that same sort of principle of being in a lab and this could be my career.

Obviously it's so versatile and there's so many different things within the lab. It was also when we looked more into organic chemistry here in school, I realised it was very interesting. I realised instead of doing something vocational, like being a pharmacist or something, I can be a part of the actual manufacturing and be the person that makes these medicines that help people.

• How was your experience on a work placement?

So it was a five day placement at Queen Mary University with a program called ‘Into Science’. It was above what you would do at A-level. It was really taking you into university life and that level of content. So we spent the first day it was only me with one other girl.

We spent the first day just sort of looking over content that you'd be likely to go over at university. It was a mix of biology and chemistry, but a bit more chemistry based. The second day we were in the lab where we did an experiment quite similar to the experiment I did, just a different aim.

So it was testing like it was finding the unknown protein concentration of a stock solution. That was the first time I’d been in, like, a big sort of university style lab.

Yeah. So that also, I guess, deepened my interest because there's so much more than just what you do at school. And the next day we were analysing all of that data and stuff, and just really getting an insight into how it would be if you want to go into this at university or even just in your career. 

So that all really made me interested even more and because it was above what you're learning at A-level, it's not just exam textbook style, it's actual research. And yeah, you have to take your own initiative instead of a teacher telling you what to do. It made me see that it was something I really did like outside of school as well. Which just made me even more willing to make it into my own career. 

• If you were to give any advice to your younger self or any students who have ambitions in science, what would you like to share with them? 

I say just go for it because I feel like even with me, science is one of those subjects that everybody's scared of because they know it's not easy and you do need to put the work in, but it will show how much you're capable of. 

I think even if it's not science and anything that you have an interest in, always go deeper. 

Even like above what you do at school. Research into it more and find what you're truly interested in and then you realise how many things can actually open the doors for what you want to go into. So don't be scared of it. Just try and go for it and you'll realise how hard you actually can work and what you're capable of. 

• What is the Crest Award and what are the steps to start a research project?

So they're part of the British Science Organisation and what it is specifically, the gold award. They will expect you to conduct your own experiment independently. It can be about anything you want and there's no guidelines on that.

For me, I chose something that would align with what I want to do at university, but whatever you like. It's mainly just about seeing if you can think like a scientist and work like a scientist. Especially challenging on the independence part, because they want to see that you can do this by yourself without somebody else instructing you.

So I guess it really does show your own interest, too. You have to do a minimum of 72 hours of research prior. You will submit all the research you've done and your results and your experiment. 

From then, you'll be given the award. If not, they will tell you where you've fallen short in the criteria and then tell you how to improve it. 

It's hard and it's a lot of work because it's all by yourself and you're coming up with an experiment from scratch, but it's really rewarding in the end because again, it proves that you can do it and you can think like a scientist.

If you would like to start your own Crest Award research project or just want to learn more, please contact the Head of Science, Mr Salveta.