Upper Sixth Formers and staff at Dauntsey’s are celebrating a superb set of Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) results, with 25% gaining an A* grade and 91% receiving A*- B grades. A total of 55 students submitted an EPQ.
Pupils picked a topic of personal interest at the start of the Autumn term, then carried out more than 90 hours of research during the academic year, before writing a 5,000-word report, or creating an artefact, and giving a presentation.
John Tyler, Deputy Head, Academic, Dauntsey’s, said: “With its emphasis on independent research, self-motivation and organisation, the EPQ is highly regarded by universities and completing the course is an achievement in itself. We are very pleased with these results and there can be little doubt that the pupils’ hard work, time and dedication has paid off.”
The pupils’ project topics underline the breadth of academic curiosity at Dauntsey’s. Topics included:
‘Analysis of how wood affects guitar acoustics which focused on the creation of a guitar’
‘An evaluation of Shakespeare’s understanding of serial-killers’
‘An original play about the Oscar Pistorius trial’
‘An investigation and projection into the likelihood of Catalan Independence’
‘A look at whether trials should be televised in the UK’
‘An evaluation of whether 1960s Jazz truly was politically radical’
As Sixth Formers battle for places at top universities, the EPQ has become increasingly popular. Most students opt to complete their EPQ by writing an essay on virtually any topic. The marking of the essay is designed to reflect the skills needed at university, with 20% for planning and managing the workload, 20% for use of resources, 40% for developing and realising the project and 20% for reviewing it. Many universities will lower their A-level grade requirements if applicants achieve a high score for their EPQ.