Extended Project Qualification

The Extended Project Qualification is an opportunity to plan and carry out a research project on a topic you haven’t studied in school. It allows you to develop your learning and research skills and to take responsibility for a project which you create, carry out and review entirely independently. It will help you develop your confidence in decision making and evaluation and the skills you have learnt will be excellent preparation for university and beyond.

The EPQ is allocated 120 hours and students start their projects in Year 12 and finish them by Christmas Year 13. The project must be devised, planned and carried out by the student and approximately 90 hours are allocated to independent study, research and write up. The remaining time is spent developing skills needed to carry out the project. Seminars are organised to cover key areas.

The EPQ is assessed by AQA at A2 Level. The taught element covers a range of topics including time management, evaluating sources, academic referencing and presentation skills and a day’s visit to  Manchester University Library is undertaken with training geared to the EPQ. The EPQ is a taster for study at university and an opportunity to explore your passion or something that intrigues you. 

Independent study like this is an adventure and you may come to very different conclusions to the ones you anticipated at the outset. At the heart of this project is your response: your problem-solving skills, your evaluation of the evidence and your performance. 

Your supervisor is there to guide and support rather than direct.

At Queen’s we have an excellent success rate of A*/A grades for girls choosing to undertake the EPQ.

Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought

Albert Szent-Gyorgyi