Grant applications for British Science Week 2025 are open now and close at 4.59 pm on 5 November 2024.
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Our mission
Is your school keen to run events for British Science Week, but in need of a helping hand?
With the support of UK Research and Innovation, we provide Kick Start Grants to help schools in challenging circumstances organise their own activities and events during British Science Week. Usually opened in autumn, the grant scheme aims to engage children who might not otherwise choose to participate in science, and to promote cross-curricular learning. All kinds of events and activities are eligible for support!
About the Kick Start Grants
We have made some improvements to the Kick Start Grants.
Instead of having four grants of different amounts, we’ve simplified things and there is now one grant of £400 for your school to run science activities during British Science Week. The Kick Start Grant we gave out in previous years was worth £300, so the majority of recipients will receive more money!
This year, we also have an exciting opportunity with the CREST Awards scheme: CREST is the British Science Association’s flagship education programme for student-led project work in the STEM subjects. Once students complete CREST projects, they are recognised with CREST Awards certificates from the British Science Association. This year, successful Kick Start Grant applicants who do CREST projects in their school will be able to get up to £350 CREST Awards for free! That’s enough to recognise and reward a whole year group in many secondary schools, or even a whole primary school!
Including CREST in your British Science Week plans can be a great way to extend your students’ learning and help them think and behave like scientists and engineers. For suitable project ideas and inspiration to include in your plans, check out the free CREST resource library.
How can I apply for a Kick Start Grant?
Step 1: Decide if the Kick Start Grant is right for you Step 2: Check you are eligible
Step 3: Plan your Week with our priorities in mind Step 4: Refer to the FAQs
Step 5: Draft your application Step 6: Apply for a Kick Start Grant
Eligibility
If your school meets all of the following eligibility criteria, we encourage you to apply:
- The organisation is a school, college, or Ofsted-registered Early Years nursery or preschool.
- The school is in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
- The school is a state-funded school. Independent Special Schools that receive local authority funding for pupil places are also eligible.
- The school is not academically selective.
- The young people taking part in the activity/event are aged between 3 and 19.
- The school meets at least one of the following additional eligibility criteria:
- A minimum of 30% of pupils are eligible for Pupil Premium, Free School Meals, or equivalent
- A minimum of 30% of pupils are from ethnic minority backgrounds*
- The school is based in a remote and rural location**
*Ethnic minority backgrounds include all pupils who don’t self-describe as White British. It includes Irish, except in Northern Ireland.
** Remote and rural schools are in postcodes listed as ‘rural’ under the Government’s Rural Urban classification system. You can look up your school’s classification at www.ukpostcodecheck.com
The Kick Start funding is only available for schools, however non-school organisations may be eligible for the Community Grants.
We will only accept one Kick Start Grant application per school. Please check with school colleagues to ensure only one application is submitted.
Our priorities
Events that align with our priorities are most likely to be funded. These include activities that:
- Involve children supported by Pupil Premium, from ethnic minority backgrounds, with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) or from any other groups of young people more likely to be underrepresented in STEM.
- Support girls to develop their STEM skills, understanding and passions.
- Engage children who wouldn’t normally choose to participate in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) activities.
- Are embedded in your local community and involve the wider community as a core audience.
- Challenge stereotypes about science, and link it to the children’s everyday life beyond school.
- Support children and young people to take initiative and actively lead activities.
- Are cross-curricular and include teachers, professionals or organisations from outside STEM.
- Raise awareness of the diverse range of careers that studying STEM subjects can lead to.
- Have an impact on STEM activities throughout the year, e.g., staff CPD or launching a new STEM initiative in your school.
In your application, be sure to demonstrate how your planned activities meet some or all of these priorities and highlight how your school would make excellent use of the Kick Start Grant.
Review the FAQ for full details on planning your British Science Week event and submitting a Kick Start Grant application. It contains a summary of the eligibility requirements, priorities, the full terms and conditions of the grant, and much more.
FAQ
Make sure you read the FAQ document before applying:
Start your application by reading the FAQ document
The opportunity to join British Science Association’s Engage Teacher Network
This year, applicants will be invited to join the British Science Association’s Engage Teacher Network, a community of teachers in schools in challenging circumstances who share ideas, access inspiring resources and apply for grants to help bring science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) to life for all young people.
Successful case studies and example activities
For more inspiration, check out our case studies of grant recipients from previous British Science Weeks:
Kick Start Grant – successful case studies and example activities
You can also refer to our latest video of tips we summarised on how to create a successful application.
Free webinar: the top tips for Kick Start Grant applications
Thinking of applying for a Kick Start Grant and want the best chance for success? Hear about the top tips for applications explained by British Science Association colleagues.
The webinar was held online via MS Teams on 9 October 2024. You can now watch the webinar recording.
Watch the webinar recording
If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]