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Make something, investigate something, and explain what you found. Every project saves your exact place, so you can stop whenever you need to.
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A Christmas Carol: The Character Transformation File
Scrooge begins cold and ends transformed. Build the evidence trail and explain how Dickens shows the change.
You'll make: A before/during/after evidence trail, an analytical response and a short creative scene or letter.
You'll need: A complete edition of A Christmas Carol, Paper or the on-screen table
The Newsroom: Find It, Check It, Publish It
Pick a topic you care about — an animal, an invention, a local place — check every claim, and publish.
You'll make: A fact-check log, a news article and a letter or persuasive editorial for a defined audience.
You'll need: Two or three trustworthy sources on your topic, Paper or the on-screen boxes
The Story Studio: From Idea to Finished Fiction
Fantasy, mystery, comedy or real life — build a world, try two openings and finish a story you're proud of.
You'll make: A setting and character plan, two openings, a complete short story written in sections, and an author's note on your revisions.
You'll need: Paper or the on-screen boxes
Every project
The Detective's Casebook
Train as a detective on an invented practice case — fingerprints, ink, alibis and codes — then weigh the real evidence in a 500-year-old royal mystery.
You'll make: A case file for the practice case: an evidence log, a decoded message, and a written verdict — plus a careful evidence-based verdict on a real historical mystery.
You'll need: A pencil and a notebook or the on-screen answer boxes, One dark felt-tip or ballpoint pen (three different brands is even better), Kitchen roll or coffee filter paper, a glass of water, a saucer, An adult nearby for the ink experiment, No-kit option: ready-made (clearly labelled invented) results are provided
The Habitat Design Challenge
Design a habitat that fits a real animal's real geography — mountains, seasons, water and all.
You'll make: A range map, a climate graph, an annotated habitat plan or model, and an evidence-based explanation with a trade-off.
You'll need: Paper or card, Your earlier zoo enclosure work (optional)
Design the perfect zoo enclosure
A zoo has room for one new enclosure. Design it so the animal thrives — and prove it with evidence.
You'll make: A labelled scale plan of an enclosure, a costed materials list and a one-page welfare report.
You'll need: Squared paper or the on-screen grid, Pencil and ruler, Calculator (optional)
The Victorian Toy Lab
Your imaginary toy shop needs an optical toy that actually works — and an honest answer to who had time to play.
You'll make: A working card thaumatrope, a test log, a toy-shop advert and a 'Who had time to play?' comparison.
You'll need: Thin card (a cereal box works), Coloured pencils, Two short strings or elastic bands, An adult to make the holes, No-spin option: just paper
The Royal Group Chat
A fictional history app has muddled its royal contacts. Fix the family board, then work out why cousins still ended up on opposite sides.
You'll make: A checked royal family board, an imagined group chat built on real facts, and an explanation of why family ties did not stop war.
You'll need: Paper and pencil, or use the on-screen board, Optional: sticky notes
The Romanov Mystery
A museum has mixed up the labels for a royal object. Solve it — then explain why the man who gave it lost his throne.
You'll make: A solved label puzzle, a paper opening egg with visitor clues, curator captions and a cause-and-consequence explanation.
You'll need: Paper or card, Scissors and glue, Coloured pencils
The Message Office
Decode a practice message, investigate the date it points to, and produce a four-panel history newspaper.
You'll make: A decoded message, a four-panel newspaper with a map or timeline, and a coded reply.
You'll need: Paper folded into four panels, Pencil
Tudor Costume Studio
Design a royal portrait whose objects send a message — just like Elizabeth I's painters did.
You'll make: A labelled portrait design (drawing, collage or paper costume), designer captions and an explanation of what a portrait can and can't tell a historian.
You'll need: Paper, coloured pencils, or magazine scraps for collage, No dressing up needed
Rooftoppers: The Story Atlas
Map the novel's world — its places, images and changes — and explain how Rundell makes setting matter.
You'll make: An illustrated story atlas, an optional book-nook design and an illustrated feature with a sustained explanation.
You'll need: Your own or a library copy of Rooftoppers, Paper, coloured pencils
The Poetry Record Label
Launch a label for six real poems from different centuries and voices — then release one of your own.
You'll make: A curated anthology of six published poems with visual identities, annotations, a developed comparison and one original poem with commentary.
You'll need: An anthology or library poetry collection, Paper, colours
Two Places, One Brief
Make an exhibition comparing two real regions — without falling into stereotypes.
You'll make: An illustrated comparative atlas with a developed similarities and differences explanation and data limits.
You'll need: Atlas or online maps, Paper for the exhibition
The Pharaoh's Game Room
Design a playable game inspired by a real New Kingdom senet board — and be honest about what you borrowed and what you invented.
You'll make: A 30-square zig-zag board, counters, three researched fact/event cards (including a ruler card and a map), a museum label and a designer's note.
You'll need: Paper or card, A coin, Two counters (buttons work)
Holes: The Evidence Wall
Two stories, a hundred years apart, and a camp where nothing is what it seems. Pin up every clue and prove how Sachar built the mystery.
You'll make: A growing evidence board, a clue sort, an optional fictional case file and a developed evidence-based essay.
You'll need: Your own or a library copy of Holes (complete edition), Paper or a board, sticky notes, string (optional)
A Midsummer Night's Dream: The Director's Studio
Four lovers, a fairy quarrel and some very amateur actors. Direct one scene two different ways — and explain why.
You'll make: A relationship map, two staging plans for one scene, an annotated script or storyboard and a director's explanation.
You'll need: A complete school edition of the play, Paper for a storyboard, Optional: a trusted adult to read parts with
The Tempest: The Island Production
A storm, a magician, a spirit and a stranded court. Design a stage island and weigh up different readings of power.
You'll make: A relationship map, an invented stage model, a programme feature and a developed literary response.
You'll need: A complete school edition of the play, Cardboard or paper for a model (optional)
Make a Better Neighbourhood
Compare how two local places are used, then design an improvement backed by evidence.
You'll make: A data table and graph, a GIS layer map, an annotated proposal and an explanation of evidence and gaps.
You'll need: Clipboard, pencil — or the supplied data
The Code Arcade
Design and build your own small text game in Python — a quiz or guessing game — using sequence, decisions, loops and lists.
You'll make: A working Python game, a plan (algorithm) for it, a test log showing bugs you found and fixed, and a short designer's write-up.
You'll need: The Python Lab on the Tech page (runs in the browser), Paper and pencil for planning, No downloads or accounts needed
The River Rescue Lab
Explain what happens to water from the moment rain falls on a hillside to the moment it reaches the sea.
You'll make: A paper catchment model or tray demonstration, a data comparison and a cause-and-effect flood explanation.
You'll need: Paper, card, pens; or a tray, soil and a watering can with an adult, No river visit or storm outing needed
The Landscape Design Studio
Reconstruct how ice and the sea have shaped two British landscapes.
You'll make: Layered card cross-sections, a change-over-time storyboard and a field-guide explanation.
You'll need: Card, scissors, colours, No cliff or beach visit needed
The Planet Engineer's Workshop
Build models that explain slow changes beneath and above Earth's surface.
You'll make: A moving card plate model, rock-cycle story cards and an explanation of one process with its limits.
You'll need: Card, split pins or paper strips, pens
The Weather Studio
Produce a forecast supported by your own evidence — and be honest about what it can't tell you.
You'll make: An observation log, a graph, a forecast storyboard or bulletin, and an explanation of weather versus climate.
You'll need: A simple thermometer, or supplied data, A rain gauge made from a straight-sided jar (optional)
The Journey of a T-shirt
Follow an everyday object through fields, factories, ships and shops.
You'll make: A product passport, a supply-chain map and a comparison of two possible product journeys.
You'll need: A T-shirt you already own (no purchase needed), World map
The Secret Cartographer
Design a clue trail that someone can solve using nothing but a map.
You'll make: A treasure map or desk-based route, a set of precise clues, a distance calculation and a route-choice explanation.
You'll need: Printed OS extract or library OS Explorer map (optional), Ruler, string, paper
English Reading Shelf
Whole books and plays read in short sessions, with your reading place, quotes and notes saved.