EPQ

THE EXTENDED PROJECT QUALIFICATION (EPQ)

The Extended Project Qualification Level 3 is not about what to learn, but about how to learn. It is a research journey which develops and extends from your areas of study or from an area of personal passion.

The EPQ is completed in the Lower 6th year. As an AS qualification it is worth UCAS points (70 for an A*, 60 for an A grade and so on). It is highly valued by universities as a means of identifying able students and those who will be able to cope with the rigours of undergraduate level study. Increasingly, universities are making alternative offers to students who secure an A*/A in their EPQ.

With the EPQ you don’t just settle for the answers you are given: you read more, ask questions and challenge what you are told. Ultimately, I believe that the EPQ is a process unique to every individual.

(Lower 6th student)

”

I am glad that I undertook the EPQ because it has definitely increased my confidence in public speaking.

Audrey (OP 2019) ”

How is the EPQ assessed? There is no formal exam, and you will be assessed on your project and on the research process itself.

Students are required to: • Choose an area of interest • Draft a title and aims of the project • Plan, research and carry out the project: either a 5000-word written report or a created artefact supported by a 2000-word written report • Deliver a presentation to a specified audience • Provide evidence of all the stages of project development and production for assessment

You will be allocated a supervisor, who acts as a guide and mentor rather than a teacher.

Examples of project titles include:

• An analysis into the lives of Roman women: at home, in marriage and in law. • An investigation into the Human Genome

Project and its potential for developing specialised cancer treatments.