EPQ presentations 2021

Dated: 23 November 2021

Daria produced 'An artwork on the beauty of age in elderly women' for her EPQ

This week, 70 of our U6 students have been completing their EPQs by doing a presentation to their peers and supervisors.

The level 3 Extended Project Qualification helps students become ‘hands-on’ researchers and is excellent preparation for university. It is worth half an A level and students can choose to make it about any subject they please. They may wish to deepen their knowledge of an A level subject or choose something which sits outside of academic subjects altogether. Some students research and write academic essays – a bit like mini-dissertations – while others complete product projects such as short novels, films, inventions or designs. Each student has the support of a teacher who is their supervisor.

Student Daria (pictured above) produced an artwork as part of her project. She told us "Doing an EPQ was quite useful in developing my time management and organisational skills, as I had some trouble initially - between my first and second draft I had to schedule in more practice than I'd previously planned. It also helped me to develop my drawing and social skills (I feel a lot more confident in conducting interviews) as well as improving my ability to think quickly and logically.

I did enjoy it overall. There were definitely some difficult points during it, where I felt overwhelmed with the stress of A levels and my EPQ, especially with my mock exams, but it was worth it in the end. I want to go to university to study law. Whilst my EPQ did not have a direct link to this, art was and still is a hobby of mine, which I wanted to practice more. The EPQ gave me a good excuse to do that.. one where I didn’t feel as if I was neglecting my other studies."

Arshia's EPQ addressed the question 'Will the mathematical group theory revolutionise quantum physics?'

Our dedicated EPQ Manager - Head of Philosophy & RS, Cressida Tweed, said "Supervisors have really been impressed by the quality of the presentations and the professionalism students displayed in their role as presenters. It is clear that students have hugely benefited form doing an extended project on a personal and academic level. We have had students writing poetry anthology and novels, creating works of art or writing dissertations on a range of humanities, social sciences and science topics: for example 'The effectiveness of the Myers Briggs personality test', 'Whether crytopcurrnecies are a threat to the economy', and 'Whether surrogate mothers are a means to an end'."

Yasmin presented an EPQ on 'Exploring the experience/transition of being trans/non-binary'

Yasmin told us "I greatly enjoyed doing my EPQ and found it was incredibly beneficial to both my learning and personal skills. It's given me a great insight into university learning. I felt that I was very well supported when I needed help during the process. I had so many people to turn to - not just my supervisor and the EPQ manager, but the other EPQ students too.

Originally, I wanted to do a degree in computer science. However, after doing an EPQ artefact and spending time researching and writing, I've realised that I am better suited to a creative subject, and I'm now pursuing a degree in linguistics."

Augusto explaining... 'To what extent will energy changes from non-renewables to renewables like electric or hydrogen fuel cells affect new or current car manufacturers?'

Sam presenting his EPQ findings...

Student Sam researched whether video games cause aggression in adolescents. He told us "The extended project was an interesting and tough challenge, yet also very rewarding in terms of the skills I gained from it. I did enjoy it, though I would be lying if I said there wasn’t some stressful parts, but overall I’m glad I did it."

Principal Sugra Alibhai, who attended some of the presentations, said "The extended project offers our students the chance to prepare themselves for the kind of research they’ll have to do at university and often widens their subject knowledge for their A levels. It’s a key part of our comprehensive super-curricular program and I’m so impressed with the commitment many of our students show in strengthening their scholarly skills."

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