EPQ

The Extended Project Qualification, worth half an A Level, is a unique opportunity for students in the Lower Sixth to complete a research-based project. Highly valued by top universities, with some students receiving reduced or preferential offers with a strong grade in EPQ, the qualification not only involves embarking on a project that spans an academic year, but also represents a process through which students reflect on themselves as learners and their ability to recognise and overcome problems. Whether they choose to produce a dissertation, an investigation, a performance, or an artefact, the EPQ represents the freedom to pursue a question or to create something in which students have a keen personal interest.

The diversity of projects completed this year reflects the academic ambition of students at Emanuel. From creating an animation based on the surrealist works of Salvador Dali and Walt Disney, to writing a punk song in the style of the Sex Pistols, or exploring the extent to which social media has destabilised democracy, the standard and breadth of projects this year have been outstanding. Results have been similarly impressive: 72% of the current Upper Sixth cohort were awarded A*-A, with 24 of these being A*s. Students and their supervisors should be commended for these results; they are testament to their perseverance, problem solving, and resilience in managing a large-scale project.

The qualification requires, rewards, and instils organisational and research skills necessary to thrive at university and beyond. I hope that the EPQ process equips Emanuel Sixth Formers with the confidence to think critically and objectively about the questions they want to interrogate, and to recognise that no challenge is insurmountable.

Mr S Clarke (Head of EPQ)