Junior Stem is a long running QuEST project.The main aim of Junior stem is to encourage passion for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths and to inspire years 7, 8 and 9 to join other QuEST projects in the future. But equally, it is about making STEM fun for KS3/4! Examples of previous activities include the Pizza Box Challenge, where students construct a bridge from pizza boxes, the Tower Challenge which is focused around creating towers from spaghetti and marshmallows, the Egg Drop Challenge, which involves designing, making and testing parachute mechanisms for eggs.

Both individual and group research projects are all primarily student led, which encourages creativity and scientific exploration outside of lessons, but also makes sure that the focus for Junior Stem is learning about relevant and interesting topics for young people.

We also aim to provide students with the opportunity to use these projects as a basis to take part in competitions such as the Big Stem Challenge, Bright Sparks or The Big Bang Competition.