An Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is a qualification taken by some students in England and Wales, which is equivalent to 50% of an

A level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

. They are part of level three of the National Qualifications Framework. It is currently graded A*-E. The extended project was devised by Sir Mike Tomlinson in 2006, during his review of 16- to 19-year-olds' education. It was a compulsory part of the

14–19 Diploma The 14-19 Diploma was a composite qualification in England launched in September 2008. Its development was announced in the ''14–19 Education and Skills'' White Paper of March 2005. It was available to learners between the ages of 14 and 19, cr ...

taken by students in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

between 2008 and 2013. An EPQ is worth up to 28

UCAS tariff The UCAS Tariff (formerly called UCAS Points System) is used to allocate points to post-16 qualifications (Level 3 qualifications on the Regulated Qualifications Framework). Universities and colleges may use it when making offers to applicants. A ...

points.

Description

All students may take an extended project as a free-standing qualification, following a recommendation by the

examination board An examination board (or exam board) is small board organization that sets examinations, is responsible for marking them, and distributes results. Some are run by governmental entities; some are run as not-for-profit organizations. List of na ...

s of England and Wales ( Edexcel, OCR, AQA, WJEC, Eduqas and CIE) and England's former qualifications authority, the QCA. There is no restriction on the topic a student chooses, but they must demonstrate that it is academically useful, either as an extension to their current course of study or syllabus or as relevant to their future career path. It takes the form of either a dissertation (5,000 words being a common guideline) or a number of other forms: a musical or dramatical composition, report or artefact, backed up with paperwork. David MacKay, head of the 14–19 curriculum at the QCA, was in favour of EPQs, saying in 2009: "Extended projects can help students to develop and demonstrate a range of valuable skills through pursuing their interests and investigating topics in more depth." It has also been praised by universities for guiding students into

higher education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after comple ...

(typically

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

). According to the QCA, an extended project is "a single piece of work requiring a high degree of planning, preparation, research, and autonomous working." Approximately 30,000 students took the EPQ recently and this is growing by the year. Universities look positively at an EPQ and value its rigorous academic content and the vast amount of time taken to complete this. An EPQ contains 100% coursework, there is no exam and students tend to take this up in their second year in the sixth form. This is because the project helps students to gain a lot of new information and explore their interests in-depth after the transition to A-levels. It also indicates a keen interest in a particular subject, which is useful for those applying to university.

Effect of the 2020 pandemic

In response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, in the summer of 2020 EPQ grades were awarded according to assessments made by teachers.

References

{{National Qualifications Framework 2006 establishments in England 2006 establishments in Wales Educational qualifications in England Educational qualifications in Wales