In March last year the authors was asked to take over as science coordinator in her primary school. The school had signed up for the Primary Science Quality Mark (PSQM, www.psqm. org.uk) and the author attended the first PSQM meeting with very little idea of what it entailed. This turned out not to be a problem: her mentors were a huge source of information, encouragement and support, which enabled the author to get to grips with her new role. As someone who likes to be thorough and takes responsibilities seriously, the author seized the opportunity to develop a clear understanding, ensure science was the very best it could be at her school, and become more involved with the wider science community. In this article, the author presents an outline of her journey as a science lead and all that it entailed.