CREST Awards

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Young STEM Leaders can Unlock Free CREST Awards in Exciting New Partnership

YSL3-SL7 (1st August 2026 – 31st July 2027)

SSERC is thrilled to unveil an exciting new partnership between the Young STEM Leader Programme (YSLP) and the CREST Awards programme - marking a major step forward in celebrating and championing young people in STEM across Scotland.

For the 2026–2027 academic year (1st August 2026 - 31st July 2027), every young person who earns a Young STEM Leader Award at Levels 3 to 7 (YSL3–SL7) will be eligible

to automatically claim a free CREST Award. With a simple upload of their YSLP certificate. Learners can unlock CREST Awards ranging from Discovery to Silver—and for those ready to go further, there’s the opportunity to progress to Gold.

The process

Once your young people have achieved a Young STEM Leader Award, your young people have also achieved all the learning required to also apply for a CREST Award in Scotland, for no additional charge. ​

Who is eligible to receive a free CREST Award?

Anyone who successfully completes the YSLP (levels 3, 4 ,5, 6 or 7) in this current academic year (1st August 2026 – 31st July 2027) and has been issued with their certificate is eligible.

When is the CREST Awards application deadline?

All applications must be made by 15 August 2027.

Which Award Level should I apply for?

CREST Award levels are aligned with the following YSLP levels.

YSLP Level CREST Level
YSL3 Discovery CREST Award
YSL4 (NF) and YSL4 (F) Bronze CREST Award
YSL5 Silver CREST Award
YSL6 Silver CREST Award
SL7 Silver or Gold CREST Award

Applying for a CREST Award is a great way to gain extra recognition for Young STEM Leaders’ hard work, and further demonstrate the excellent skills and knowledge developed via the YSLP programme and applications should be made following the instruction in the PDFs below.

There are three ways Young STEM Leaders can apply for CREST Awards:​

  1. Tutor Assessors can apply on their behalf at any level (refer to Tutor Assessor Crest Award Instructions 2026-2027

  2. Young STEM Leaders can apply themselves (refer to Young STEM Leader_Carer CREST Award Instructions 2026-2027 and/or

  3. With the support of parents or carers (refer to Young STEM Leader_Carer CREST Award Instructions 2026-2027)

Crest Award Logo

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