Seed selection advice needed please!

Hi all,
I was wondering if someone could advise me on a type of plant which grows very quickly and reliably from seed?
I'm a science teacher and I'm going to be covering this topic with a year 7 class in about 2 weeks time, I thought it would be useful to plant some seeds now and leave them on the windowsill so when we come onto the topic I can refer to them.
I'm hoping someone would be able to suggest a plant which has a high success rate for germination, and which also grows quickly after germination.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hello and welcome to GC, you will like it here


Can I suggest.... Sunflowers, Cosmos, Nasturtium, Calendula. All annuals, that with a little gentle warmth should pop up in 7-14 days (well mine do). And at this time of year will grow quite quickly. Hope that helps.

 

The fastest germination I have ever noticed is Pak Choi, within 2 days.

 

Candytuft is another good one....it will flower 6 weeks from sowing.

 

Oh wow, I didn't expect so maybe replies so quickly! Thanks for your suggestions, I think I'll make a list of them and see what B&Q have in stock this evening.
Thank you for the offer of some seeds, that's very kind of you but I'm planning to get the kids to plant them on Friday afternoon, so I think I'll have to buy them in shop or find a seed supplier which offers next day delivery.
What I may do is get 2 or 3 of the different types suggested here, and we can do an experiment to see which ones grow fastest!
Again, thank you to everyone for the help. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Mustard and cress , we used to grow that on blotting paper . You can even grow Egg cress heads as below. Then you also have the trusty carrot tops sprouting in a saucer of water.

 

Runner Beans? Big seed-leaves from the seeds, and long-ish stems - kids might see that as beign "dramatic"?

 

Runner and French beans are good , quite spectacular how they unfold them selves from the soil . Always reminds me of the skeleton warriors in Jason and the Argonauts