Amy shines at science awards

CREST (Creativity in Science and Technology) is a UK-wide Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) award scheme managed by the British Science Association.

Through CREST, young people aged 11-19 explore the real nature of STEM by doing their own creative problem solving through mini-projects.

Amy started the project as part of her enrichment programme, meaning that she took the work on in addition to her usual curriculum, undertaking most of the research on her own and in her spare time.

Since starting the project she has been generously supported and encouraged by College biology tutor Wendy Jasper.

Second year learner Amy, who is studying Chemistry, Biology, English and Photography at 'A' level, had the inspiration for her project when she found that during her assignments she was achieving 'A's, but when it came to a particular exam, the results didn't match up.

She decided to look into the effects that stress has on the ability to study and learn and how this can be remedied through the senses. She came up with the idea that working with colours, sounds and smells could make a difference to your stress levels and help students work more efficiently. After trials her invention was found to enable the user to relax, study for longer and retain more information.

Amy then took her "stress busting revision kit" to the South East Area Finals of the Gold CREST awards.

She won first prize amongst a host of high quality entries. She also won the right to take her work to The Big Bang '“ the name of the National Finals.

Although she didn't win the final, her talent and hard work has not gone unrewarded. She has been asked to appear at the British Science Association Festival by the regional director of STEM - which is usually only attended by undergraduates.

Global household product giant, Reckitt Benckiser, have also offered her an internship to work with them on their Air Wick products. An appearance on TV's Dragon's Den could also be a possibility. Amy was at first reluctant to apply to appear on the show, as costs meant she didn't have a patent for her idea. Now someone has offered to pay for the patent and an appearance before Dragons Jones, Paphitis and Co looms large on the horizon.

Talking about her future plans Amy said "I want to pursue the project. I aim to go to UCL or Imperial College to study medicine but I will continue to work on this project alongside my degree"