The exam season will be nearing its end this Friday, much to the relief of the students undergoing the ordeal and, whilst the debate over the value of exams is for another time, those finishing their GCSEs and IGCSEs will be considering the next stage of their education journey – A Levels.
Students often underestimate the rigour required of the A level courses, believing them to be just incrementally more difficult than GCSEs/IGCSEs but the reality soon hits home. Simply telling students that they need to significantly raise the level of their work doesn’t work, it’s only through experience that this is really driven home.
Some years ago, our school discovered the Extended Project Qualification, offered by OCR, AQA, Edexcel and Cambridge, and tentatively began to offer the Edexcel EPQ Express version to our students in Year 11. The course was tough and nearly half dropped out but those that persevered all achieved A or A* grades. Whilst this delighted us, better was to come as these students began their A Level courses. It soon became apparent that those who had successfully completed their EPQ were working at a much higher level in their A Levels and, at the end of the two years, this was borne out by their results at AS and A2 which were a grade and a half above the average for the cohort and a grade above their predicted grades. Those students have now completed the first year of their undergraduate courses at university and have sailed through it, all acknowledging that the EPQ was a decisive factor in their success.
So what is the EPQ and why does it have the impact we have experienced?
The Edexcel EPQ can take four forms: Dissertation, Investigation, Artefact or Performance to allow scope for all talents to be showcased. In the dissertation format, students devise a question they will answer that allows argument and counter-argument whilst in the investigation format, scientific or mathematical hypotheses are constructed and tested. The artefact format allows for artists, engineers and more to create an artefact. Finally, performance allows for sport, music or drama students to shine.
For all of the formats, students need to document their learning journey and provide, to varying lengths, a written piece about their project. For the dissertation and investigation route, a literature or research review needs to be completed, identifying bias and providing claim and counter claims followed by a properly referenced extended written piece in the form of a dissertation or a research paper. Finally, an abstract needs to be completed and a presentation to a group of adults and peers from whom they must take and answer questions that show they have a full understanding of their work. All this is completed under the guidance of a tutor assessor and a subject expert to enable them to gain success.
Graduate readers will recognise how well this will prepare students for many of the A Level subjects but, to a greater extent, prepare them for undergraduate study. When I started university, I had no idea of what was required from me in terms of written work and it took me a few assignments to get it right. Imagine the head start students would have if they have been mentored through this whilst still at school?
A more overt benefit to having obtained an EPQ is that universities recognise its value and often give priority to students with an EPQ as it shows they are more likely to succeed in their chosen course. Additionally, the EPQ attracts UCAS points, being worth half an A Level.
Parents need to ensure their child is offered the opportunity to undertake an EPQ as it is one of the most valuable qualifications available and, as our students recognised, whilst challenging, it was great fun and very rewarding. If your school doesn’t offer it, Elea High Online School offers the EPQ (taken over four school terms) and the EPQ Express (taken over 16 weeks).
