This paper reports on a year-long citizen science project that focused on improving learning for students identified as most at risk of not succeeding at school. This project was one element of a broader university-based aspirations Initiative which aimed to engage students from low socio-economic schools in rigorous learning in order to increase their capability and aspiration to complete school and go on to university. With this objective, the university-based citizen science team worked collaboratively with four teachers from two schools who planned and implemented sequential lessons based on a citizen science topic on spiders. As part of their unit, the classes also participated in a science day visit to the university. In this article, the four teachers provided insights into one aspect of their changed practice. (Contains 2 tables and 2 pictures.)