City SPARC

City Scholars SPARC project is an innovative cross-school partnership programme, jointly led by City of London School and City of London School for Girls. This is now a significant partnership project, incorporating 80 pupils from six schools across an academic year.  

City SPARC (Science Partnerships and Research Collaborations) has enabled City Scholars who are current PhD students to guide inter-school Year 12 pupil groups in conducting original research projects. Leveraging their academic expertise, the PhD mentors have developed pupils' skills in experimental design, data analysis, scientific communication and more, with the ultimate goal of CREST accreditation. 

Aims

The aim of this programme was to utilise the expertise of PhD students to provide pupils across partner schools to conduct their own research projects with the aim of gaining their CREST accreditation.  

Background

This programme began in 2024 and has continued to develop and grow each year.  

Resources

The directors of STEM at CLS and CLSG have had a central role in recruiting pupils and supervisors and co-ordinating digital supervisions for this year-long project, as well as leading in-person launch and write-up events, which have been invaluable for pupils’ additional experiences and development, beyond the core curriculum. 

Impact

City SPARC provides invaluable hands-on experience preparing pupils for STEM degrees and careers and has brought about hugely enriching opportunities for collaboration and academic development for pupils who have taken part. We are so proud of the pupils’ commitment and collaboration with each other in this exceptional learning opportunity. Last year, 55 pupils achieved GOLD CREST accreditation - we offer our huge congratulations for all their hard work! 

Pupil Involvement

80 pupils from six partner schools.  

Frequency

The programme runs from November to April in an academic year. Pupils meet every two weeks in their research group with their mentor alongside a launch event and write up day hosted by CLSG or CLS. This is a programme that we plan to continue each year.