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 ...

. Graded A*–E and 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 p ...

points, it is part of level three of the national qualifications framework. The extended project was devised by Sir Mike Tomlinson in 2006, during his review of 16 to 19-year-olds' education, and entered a pilot phase during the academic year 2007–8. It was a compulsory part of the 14–19 Diploma taken by students in England and Wales between 2008 and 2013.

Description

All students may take an extended project as a free-standing qualification, this following a 2009 recommendation by the

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

s of England and Wales (

Edexcel Edexcel (also known since 2013 as Pearson Edexcel) is a British multinational education and examination body formed in 1996 and wholly owned by Pearson plc since 2005. It is the only privately owned examination board in the United Kingdom. It ...

, OCR,

AQA AQA Education, trading as AQA (formerly the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance), is an awarding body in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It compiles specifications and holds Test (assessment), examinations in various subjects at Genera ...

, WJEC, Eduqas and CIE), and England's former qualifications authority, the QCA. By introducing EPQs it was hoped that students would be better prepared for study at university or begin a career, by developing skills in research, problem solving, critical thinking, writing, and independent learning. There are few restrictions on the topic a student chooses, but it must be approved by the supervisor or institution and it must demonstrate that it either derives from one of the student's study areas or from an area of personal interest to the student. 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. According to the QCA, an extended project is "a single piece of work requiring a high degree of planning, preparation, research, and autonomous working." 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 Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

(typically universities). Some universities will give a reduced conditional offer to a student who is undertaking an EPQ, or will recognise the EPQ as demonstrating a strong interest in a certain area. The EPQ is equivalent to half an A-level and is graded from A* to E. The UCAS points awarded for the EPQ correspond to these grades as follows: * A* = 28 UCAS points * A = 24 UCAS points * B = 20 UCAS points * C = 16 UCAS points * D = 12 UCAS points * E = 8 UCAS points

Effect of the 2020 pandemic

In response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, 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