Mrs Hoar (English Teacher, Challenge and Extend Coordinator)

The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is a wonderful independent learning qualification as part of our Challenge and Extend opportunities here at BGS. Despite the constraints of online education due to the pandemic, a selection of Upper Sixth students chose to complete the EPQ, learning a wide range of transferable skills including referencing, research and presentational devices, before producing a written dissertation or an artefact. With support from myself, as EPQ Supervisor and many subject specialists, over the past year, the students have made superb progress; it has been an absolute pleasure to observe the final outcomes. With projects from a diverse and extensive range of subject areas, each and every outcome is unique and personal to the individual, providing a fantastic independent academic grounding for future study and career pathways.

We are incredibly proud of every student who has undertaken this qualification and with titles such as Exploring Chaucer’s female characters in The Canterbury Tales, The extent to which self-inflicted illnesses/diseases should be treated under the NHS, Urban design as a barrier to crime and How some concepts influence Art and Nature, the application to a project of this calibre is a superb accolade within our Sixth Form.

India Keane (Upper Sixth) said: “The EPQ helped me to focus on a subject beyond my A Levels, which not only supported my university applications, but is an aspect of my future career in Business and Finance. At first, the project seemed daunting with the amount of research and reflection, but once I managed my time, I enjoyed every second of it and I am so pleased with my final outcome!”

We hope to publish the EPQ submissions in the format of an eBook, so watch this space and like me, embrace learning about so many new subjects and points of reference!