Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)

Introduction

This course enables students to select, research, present and manage a topic of their own choice.  The Extended Project Qualification carries as many UCAS points as a GCE AS Level (and more as it is the only AS to have A* as a grade). Its purpose is to add a further dimension to Sixth Form study and to stretch the more ambitious student.

All students in the Sixth Form will undertake an EPQ. Participation in the EPQ should enhance a student's performance in all subjects and provide an excellent foundation for study at university. The course offers significant benefits as candidates:

• undertake a significant piece of research which should be excellent preparation for university study
• develop their skills in project management, analysis and presentation
• have an experience of working independently which they can quote on their university applications and discuss at interview
• gain an extra qualification in an increasingly competitive world.

Teaching and Assessment

At The Peterborough School, we offer the EPQ to all Sixth Form students, running the course from June in the Lower Sixth to December in the Upper Sixth.  Alongside the taught section of the course, the student is expected to work independently to complete their project. Progress will be monitored by a supervisor who will offer guidance and support.  

The topics candidates select may be drawn from purely personal interest; an existing area of study; a leisure interest; voluntary/community work or future career aspirations. Candidates can choose the outcome of their project which might be:

• a dissertation presenting an argument, typically around 5,000 words
• an artefact, for example a work of art or 3D design model, with written explanation of around 1,500 words
• a project including a short film use of internet based media, a piece of music, dance or theatre with a written explanation of around 1,500 words.

Part of the final assessment asks the students to reflect on their experience and to evaluate objectively their own performance.  The EPQ is assessed internally and moderated externally.

The Benefits of Taking an EPQ

"The potential benefits are enormous. Opportunities to get deeply involved in a subject that interests you, to develop research skills, to pull together different areas of the other subjects you are studying and to develop extended writing skills will all be enormously valuable preparation for going to university. I would strongly encourage students to do an extended project, whichever university they want to go to."

Geoff Parks, Director of Admissions at Cambridge University