Churcher's College Sixth Form Prospectus 2018

THE COLLEGE
24
EPQ
The Extended Project Qualification
(EPQ) is a new qualification which
is intended to sit alongside existing
A Levels. It is a research project,
in which students with a genuine
intellectual curiosity are given the
opportunity to work independently –
under the guidance of an appointed
supervisor – towards investigating a
chosen topic.
The project may be in any subject
area of the students’ choices, and
the outcome may be either in the
form of a 5000 word essay and
presentation or in the form of an
artefact or performance.
Here is a selection of recent
examples of EPQ’s:
• How effective is the treatment
model for acute lymphoblastic
leukaemia?
• To what extent are games
marketed to an audience
whose age is lower than that
of the ESRB rating of that
game, and what negative
impact could this and the
surrounding controversy
have?
• To what extent was the United
States Justified in dropping
the atomic bombs on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
• To what extent do autocracies
and dictatorships use
architecture to cement, control
and fulfil political aims?
• To what extent did the
situation of 19th century
women influence the actions
of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina and
Flaubert’s Madame Bovary?
• Why is Grayson Perry’s
Memory Jar so important in
describing the relationship
humans have with objects,
memory and identity?
• To what extent is the human
management of English
chalk streams for fishing
ecologically beneficial?
Given the need for disciplined and
independent work, precisely in the
way that students will be expected
to perform at undergraduate
level, it is hardly surprising that
universities look favourably upon
this qualification.
Preparation commences during
the Lower Sixth and the bulk of the
research is conducted during the
summer holiday. For this reason
we anticipate that applicants will
not only be among the most able
students, but also that they will
realistically have sufficient time
at their disposal to conduct the
necessary research (typically
covering about 20 sources).
The EPQ is a perfect steppingstone
to higher education and, as
such, an invaluable exercise. It is
unlike conventional qualifications
in that students dictate the terms
of the projects and in that as much
emphasis is given to the process
of planning and research as it is
to the final outcome. There are
UCAS points attached to the EPQ,
and some universities are already
beginning to make dual offers for
those who are taking it.