Year 13 students who completed an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) have been celebrating some fantastic results, with 86% receiving an A* or A.
The EPQ gives students the chance to choose a topic they want to explore deeply and demands independent learning and critical thinking. The qualification is valued highly by universities as it shows the candidate can carry out the sort of independent research required in further education.
This year’s cohort all chose to submit a piece of written work:
- Rosie: Assess the reasons why Philip II of Spain decided to invade England in 1588
- Daniella: Why is the gut-brain-skin connection important?
- Lucie: Which is the most effective treatment for sarcoids [a type of cancer] in horses?
- Estella: How effective were the 2010 and 2017 UK Drug Strategies?
- Millie: Assess the view that the psychological impacts of music are beneficial
- Maddie: To what extent was President Nixon’s foreign policy from 1969 to 1974 a success?
- Rowan: Assess the reasons for the rise in youth protest in 1960s America
Several carried out original research; Lucie sent a questionnaire to two vets about cancer treatments for horses and said “I was able to compare both opinions and then come to my own opinion.”
Daniella interviewed a GP for her research into the gut-brain-skin connection and Rosie visited the National Archives: ” I looked at some original documents from the time of Mary Queen of Scots, like the ciphers she used when she sent letters to her Catholic supporters.”
Millie said her EPQ on the psychological impact of music was “a good option to explore something I’ve been interested in but had never had the time to learn about.”
The students agreed it had meant a lot of work, but all were proud to have completed it.
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