Moving on
Broader horizons will overcome reorganisation blues Richard Harvey
Professor Richard Harvey thinks well of the Extended Project Qualification
When I worked in an office, someone created a mood meter. There were various moods, including all manner of dire situations, but the worst was ‘a reorganisation has been announced’. Similarly, during the reorganisation of A levels it is easy to feel at a low ebb. However, as unwelcome as the timing may be, the reforms do provide an opportunity for changes that, from my perspective as a university admissions officer, would be most delightful. Linear A levels should lead to students who have deep learning rather than the ‘do I need to know this for the exam’ mindset that can be so damaging in a fresh university student. But alongside the introduction of linear A levels have been a number of changes that are causing obvious logistical problems. The reform of AS levels means that they are examined quite differently from the A level, so many teachers claim that the AS syllabus no longer neatly segues into the A level one; and they have also been down-graded in terms of UCAS tariff, so they will be less popular with applicants. One option is to jump wholesale into the International Baccalaureate or IB. The IB is popular at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and, from a school’s perspective, jumping sideways out of the politicised British curriculum must feel very attractive. But what for schools that cannot find the resources for IB? Given that in the majority of schools we have a core of three linear A levels, the remaining conundrum is what to do in the fourth place? A fourth A level? Surely too brutal for most students. Or does one stick to three A levels and insert an extra AS level? But the new AS levels carry only 40% of the tariff of a full A level, so that will be unpopular with high-achieving students. Or does one take the space to undertake some enrichment activity, with or without tariff? One option that I believe deserves serious consideration is the study of the Extended Project Qualification or EPQ. The EPQ is an extended piece of work that is a close approximation to university assessment. The choice of topic is free, but would normally be related to the student’s future career or course of study. The assessment is usually a 5000-word essay, but may also be a composition, a drama or other artefact, plus a smaller essay or report. As an A level standard qualification, it offers a higher level qualification with an A* grade (unlike the AS). Some schools are able to timetable the EPQ before universities consider applications, so this gives applicants the tactical advantage of offering a graded qualification on their UCAS form. As well as these tactical advantages, the EPQ has intellectual advantages: it is an enquiry-driven piece of work that encourages intellectual curiosity and independent thinking. It is this selfmotivation and drive which, we believe, distinguishes the potential first-class applicants from those who have good grades but have yet to find their intellectual impetus. This is
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particularly important when applying to subjects that are not always offered at A level: interdisciplinary subjects such as environmental sciences, development studies, American studies or nursing; or subjects where the demand for places is so great that any opportunity to show intellect must be taken – medicine or creative writing for example. At UEA we have been pondering how best to incorporate the EPQ in our offers. Over the years, UEA has developed a distinctive educational flavour. Unlike many other highly ranked institutions, undergraduate education has always been important to our institutional well-being. With an attractive staff-student ratio of around 13:1, which is notably lower than many of our competitors, we are trying to encourage those highly desirable but expensive activities such as small-group seminars, off-textbook teaching and student-research. Furthermore, as part of the Norwich Research Park our students have vast resources to draw upon: around 13,000 people work on the park so undergraduate projects can cover a surprisingly wide range of topics. In my own discipline of computer science, as I write, undergraduates are considering, among other things the iconography of lutes; the classification of whisky; the analysis of melody; the fall of RBS; and the modelling of cloth in medieval clothing! It is that astonishing breadth of topics that makes modern science so interesting, but it can be daunting for students brought up on the nourishing but unvaried diet of three A levels. So, to make the most of our teaching, students need to be intellectually curious and self-motivated, and we feel that the EPQ really encourages that. So not only do we count the EPQ but, where possible, we will make a lower offer to students holding an EPQ. Getting started with the EPQ need not be too demanding and, because it makes efficient use of the school holiday, many schools find that staffing is manageable. If you are interested in sharing best practice and learning from others, then you are very welcome at UEA’s EPQ conference, which will run on the 9th June, 2016. This is the day before our annual careers advisors conference – contact Dr Jane Bryan (J.Bryan@uea.ac.uk) for details – so why not stay on for that and hear Mary Curnock Cook, UCAS supremo, and a raft of other distinguished speakers. It would be my pleasure to meet you and discuss EPQs and other hot topics. Professor Richard Harvey is the academic director of admissions at the University of East Anglia. His chair is in computer sciences and his current project involves teaching a computer to lip-read humans in multiple languages. He is responsible for the admissions and outreach strategy for UEA across all categories of students and currently sits on the UCAS Council.
Spring 2016
*CCR Vol53 no1 Spring 2016.indd 28
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