Do your own thing

Since its launch in September 2008, the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) has proved enormously -popular across the country. While all types of school have entered candidates, independent schools have been particularly enthusiastic. In its first year, just 27 independent schools offered this course of study — which is a sort of mini-thesis on a subject of the pupil’s choice — and they entered only 125 candidates. By last summer, 242 independent schools were offering it, with 2,423 of their pupils submitting work. It was therefore no surprise to read Barnaby Lenon, chairman of the Independent Schools Council and former headmaster of Harrow, extolling its virtues in a recent Daily Telegraph article; he described an EPQ in subjects such as medicine or architecture as a ‘formidable demonstration’ of pupils’ enthusiasm for their subject when it comes to university applications.

But the EPQ shouldn’t be seen as the preserve of fiercely competitive independent schools. Entries from other sectors have also risen year on year, and the statistics point to a notable expansion of interest from city academies and free schools, which saw a rise from just 213 entries in 2010 to 12,356 this year. This rise is repeated in grammar schools and secondary comprehensives, although here the increase isn’t as dramatic.

So what does an EPQ entail? It is an extended piece of writing which is honed and researched by the student and at the end presented by them to a gathered audience. It presents pupils, often in Year 12, with the chance to pursue a topic of study which is entirely of their own choosing and unconstrained by an exam syllabus.

With its emphasis on independent research and self-motivation, the EPQ is attracting many of the brightest and the best. St Paul’s Boys School says it allows ‘pupils to work independently, pursue their intellectual passions in depth and develop a wide range of intellectual skills’.