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All schools are expected to have explicit policies in place to make sure that their most able students are being extended. This is especially important in science, as many talented young people do not aspire to study or work in science. Carefully planned projects can offer suitable opportunities to engage and challenge such students, while motivating all students to study science through active learning in contexts of obvious relevance. In particular, project work has the potential to allow young people to appreciate that science involves creativity as well as logic. This article considers the case for schools adopting opportunities for extended projects in science. In particular, it presents two examples of schools adopting the CREST (CREativity in Science and Technology) awards scheme as a framework for organising project work for their gifted students. The article does not set out to critically analyse or evaluate the CREST scheme, but rather is offered in a spirit of unashamed advocacy. CREST can be a valuable contribution to schools' programmes for meeting the needs of their gifted students in science and technology. CREST has been operating for over two decades, and the scheme is able to offer support to teachers, as well as recognition for the achievements of learners.
