Julie Webb reveals how St Edward’s School pupils studying for A-Levels have embraced the Extended Project scheme.

There is a great deal of comment these days on the difficulty university staff have in selecting potentially successful students from a large number of applicants with identical academic qualifications — and the poor level of preparation for university work, in terms of study skills, which new students often exhibit.

An exciting recent innovation in some sixth forms, the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), helps to tackle both these issues and is suitable, too, for pupils intending to embark on a career without following a higher education course.

It consists of a piece of original research on a subject of the pupil’s choice, which must not be on their curriculum, although it can be related to it. It is presented either as a 5,000-word essay, or as a 1,000-word essay alongside an artefact of some kind.

The definition of the ‘artefact’ is very wide, including models, performances, films and painting. All entrants give a verbal presentation of their work to an interested audience on its completion, similar to a university viva.

The qualification, which is now also being taken up by pupils at Lord Williams’s comprehensive school in Thame, was first offered in Oxford by the independent co-educational St.Edward’s School, where it is awarded through the AQA examination board. Nicola Hunter, head of History of Art at St Edward’s and adviser to sixth form pupils on all aspects of higher education, has co-ordinated the school’s implementation of the project since its introduction in 2008.

“When I first read about it I realised it was a qualification which was all about ways of preparing you for the future,” she said.

“That might be university or it might be a career. It is the ultimate tool for improving the academic profile of pupils.

“Every school wants to make children into independent learners, able to do research — beyond Wikipedia! — write at length and proof-read their work.

“Examinations for a lot of subjects no longer include coursework, so this replaces it to some extent, but with the added test of the viva, which can be quite searching in the questions that follow the main presentation.”

Those who used to criticise the coursework element for its openness to ‘help’ from parents, or others, would probably find this a reassuring safeguard. “Pupils begin working on their EPQ at the start of the Lower Sixth and finish it by the November of the following year,” Nicola explained.

“They have to spend 120 hours on it, of which up to 30 is training for specific skills. The project can be done in quite a short period if the pupil wants, or in large chunks over the holidays for example.”

In the first two years of the EPQ’s operation at St.Edward’s there were two cohorts of pupils, one for May and one for November — but this proved tricky to organise.

“It is not at all an easy thing to run” said Nicola. “All pupils have to have a supervisor from among the school teaching staff, who needs to see them regularly. At our school we take an unusual approach to the choice of supervisor because we like to assign a specialist — someone who knows a bit about the area of research being undertaken.

“We felt, and still feel, this is right, although many other schools don’t insist on this type of supervision. They are happy to use someone new to the subject.”

At its inception, the English and maths departments were keen to take part in the running of the project. Now almost all departments are involved, and pupils may receive support from more than one if their chosen topic crosses the boundaries of traditional disciplines. Of 132 pupils in the St. Edward’s lower sixth this academic year, over 50 have begun an EPQ.

“We tell everybody about it”, Nicola said, “but we don’t make them do it, which happens in some schools. That would be against the spirit of the qualification, as something special.” Each supervisor marks the work he or she has overseen (grades A* to E, or U for Unqualified), and marks are checked by Nicola.

The form of the pupil’s ‘viva’ varies according to the subject of the EPQ and the pupil’s own preference. Isabel Collins, now at the Slade, examined how Elizabeth II has been portrayed in art, producing her own enormous mixed media image of the Queen (featuring her Prime Ministers as tiara decorations) and a 1,000-word essay based on a vast amount of research. “For her presentation she turned one of the classrooms into an art gallery and invited all sorts of people,” said Nicola.

The subjects chosen by St. Edward’s pupils cover a huge spectrum of interests — so huge, in fact, that it must sometimes be quite a challenge to find an appropriate supervisor.

Simon Barrington-Ward, who is hoping to become a vet, looked at the pros and cons of badger culling as a preventative measure against TB in cattle. “I quickly learnt that the normal methods for research used for regular school work weren’t enough, and had to sift through scientific papers. At times it took a few hours just to find a single fact” he said.

“I also learnt — the hard way — that at times plans for the project were not possible. Having sent out a questionnaire, I had planned to review connected peoples’ opinions, but when I only received one reply I had to make a major change.”

Belle Burt explored the use of filming and other coaching styles as a way of influencing and analysing the sports performance of a group of novice hurdlers at the school.

She said: “My project involved my peers and working with others, rather than just reading and gathering information on my own. I learnt a lot about how to lead a group and organise time while coaching and learning myself.

“I found that the interest I already had in teaching grew, and it has enhanced my decision to read primary education at uni with the aim of becoming a teacher. I was nervous about undertaking an extended project as English is not my strong point – but it is very rewarding to have finished it.”

George Parris, a prospective music student, took as his subject the question ‘to what extent does Elgar’s music capture an English style?’ and answered it partly by organising a concert.

“The project was very attractive to me because of the type of question we could choose, research and elaborate on ourselves” he said.

“So often exam-style writing consists of jumping through the hoops in order to gain the maximum number of marks. Here, I was coming up with my own original ideas to form my own view on a real-life question in the world of Elgar.” “It is the pro-active aspect of it that I really like — it is no good their parents signing pupils up for it” said Nicola. “I get around to a lot of universities, and they’re all talking about it. If it’s done properly and written about in the Personal Statement, the pupil is instantly more interesting to them, particularly because the project is not about something they’re studying on their course.

“A lot more pupils start than finish, so those that carry it through have really differentiated themselves. They have accomplished something to be very proud of!”

www.stedwards.oxon.sch.uk www.lordwilliams.oxon.sch.uk www.aqa.org.uk