Details of the London pilot of the ‘Discovery Project’ are presented, where university-based
astronomers were given the chance to pass on some real and applied knowledge of astronomy to a group
of selected secondary school pupils. It was aimed at students in Key Stage 3 of their education,
allowing them to be involved in real astronomical research at an early stage of their education, the
chance to become the official discoverer of a new variable star, and to be listed in the
International Variable Star Index database (The International Variable Star Index, Version 1.1,
American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), 2016, http://aavso.org/vsx
[http://aavso.org/vsx] ), all while learning and practising research-level skills. Future plans are
discussed.