EPQ

EPQ Extended Project Qualification

Why study EPQ?
Welcome to Extended Project at Elutec. This is completed by all students and is an AS-level qualification which prepares you for the kind of academic research and technical writing that employers and universities tell us they need.

The course will aim to develop your skills in:
• Planning
• Researching
• Reading
• Writing academically (using quotations, footnotes)
• Referencing (Harvard referencing, bibliography)
• Presenting a topic to an audience
• Reflecting on your work

Course outline
• Essay - You will choose an appropriate “project product” which can be an essay of 5000 words or an artefact, a DVD of a performance accompanied by a 1000 word written report.
• You will research, make notes, plan your essay, write a first draft and improve it.
• Presentation - You will then prepare a presentation that you will give to the class at the end of the term.
• Log book - You will accompany your research, writing and presentation with a log book consisting of forms that you fill in. There you will record your initial thoughts about the project, the changes you have made and critically evaluate the outcomes.

YEAR 1
This course will run for one year in order to leave additional time for persona study in the second year for other subject areas.

Entry requirements
Grade 5 in English literature or language.

Resources
This subject is taught in general classrooms and also the Cube, our 160 seat lecture theatre.
All students are issued with their own laptops and therefore required to use these for research, essay writing, log book updating and preparing the final presentation using the software provided. All students are allocated to a member of staff as their supervisor and they will guide you through the year and keep you on track for final presentation and project submission.

Extension activities
Universities send speakers to engage outline what they want in a good EPQ. They also run sessions on planning and effective title writing.

Industry links
We ask that students pick an area of interest that will support their next steps after sixth form i.e. a subject they want to study at university as this will help in the UCS application process or a technical field that might be a focus for a higher or degree apprenticeship programme. Links to a company or organisation outside school is encouraged as this will give excellent opportunity to talk to people already working in the field of interest.

This course will prepare me for…
This course is specifically aimed at preparing students for UCAS applications and employer interviews.

Quotes
Birmingham University: “If there’s an area of study you really love – whether it’s engineering, languages, sport or art-based – an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) gives you the chance to develop your skills and knowledge AND impress universities at the same time.”
University of Southampton: ‘Students could use their project at interview stage and / or in their UCAS personal statement. Certain courses at the University will count ‘A’ grades achieved in the extended project towards their entry criteria.’
University of Manchester: ‘The skills that students develop through the Extended Project are excellent preparation for university-level study.’
University of Liverpool: ‘We encourage candidates to draw upon their experience of undertaking the project when writing their personal statement.’
University of York’s Admissions Administrator for English, “The EPQ is a definite strength in an application. It can create the heartland of a personal statement and give it depth and substance.”