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Extend and Extended Project Qualification
extend.
Extend is a unique, exciting and stretching academic study programme for A Level students, aimed at helping you to maximise your potential. If you are planning to study an A Level programme at Exeter College you will need to enrol on a four-element programme. This will commonly consist of three core A Levels (or a combination of two A Levels and a BTEC Extended Certificate) and an ‘Extend’ option, which can be selected from a wide range of courses, depending on individual interests and potential progression plans beyond College. If you’re a high achiever who will thrive on the academic challenges of studying A Levels, then you may choose an additional A Level as the fourth element (subject to GCSE grades). Some students will also be involved in a Sports Academy instead of an Extend option, because of the extra commitment with training and fixtures. Our aim is to provide you with an enriched academic experience, while helping to develop a curious and questioning mind. Extend will help to prepare you for your next steps beyond College and develop the types of skills that universities and employers are looking for. The opportunities available vary from learning a foreign language or exploring criminology and game design, to furthering your interest in the arts, creative writing or hands on practice in sports therapy. You can combine an interest in ancient history with our Ancient Worlds Extend, add Dance or Drama Extend alongside your A Levels, improve your language skills or think more deeply with the Philosopher’s Toolkit or a Maths and Science Mastermind Extend. This is just a taster of what is available, for a full list of activities please visit our website: exe-coll.ac.uk/extend
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The extended project qualification (EPQ).
The EPQ is a research project that can be taken alongside an A Level study programme in your second year, with the preparation for this starting in the summer term of year one.
Students can take inspiration for their project from a topic they may want to study at university, a career to which they aspire, or a subject that they wish to explore further. Research will culminate in a dissertation or, in the case of practical projects, creation of an artefact, such as a production or a performance, alongside a portfolio of evidence documenting your project journey to include evidence of planning, target setting and reflections. The qualification is worth 50% of a full A Level (up to 28 UCAS points) and is valued by universities as excellent preparation for higher education study. For further information visit
exe-coll.ac.uk/epq
international baccalaureate.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) is an internationally recognised qualification made up of six subjects, including English, Maths, Science, a modern foreign language and an elective which may be a Humanities subject, an ab initio language or Chemistry. You also get involved in community projects and write a research-based essay. The course is equivalent to a full A Level programme and involves exams and coursework. See pages 134-135 for more information and entry requirements.
I really enjoy the interdisciplinary nature of the IB, for example, I will do things in Global Politics and Spanish that feed into my History and Environmental Science studies, they all interlink and develop my knowledge. Studying at Exeter College has offered me so many amazing opportunities and the teachers are so passionate and supportive too.
