Study Skills

Course summary

An EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) is an additional qualification that can be taken alongside A Levels and, here at Ipswich High School, we recommend our Year 12 students take three A Levels and an EPQ, in preference to taking a fourth A Level. There is however one exception to this, which is where our strongest Mathematicians take Further Maths as a fourth A Level, which we do recommend. Students who pursue this combination can of course complete an EPQ if they wish to. At Ipswich High School we recommend our A Level students complete it in Year 12, ready for full submission in the November at the start of Year 13. This enables our Year 13 students to focus fully on their A Level studies in their final year. An EPQ is an excellent taster of university-style learning as it is effectively an independent research project which can, but does not have to, relate to an A Level subject that is being studied. It is important therefore that students choose topics that they are interested in and curious about and, ideally, relate to further study so they are motivated to complete it. For example, an aspiring medic could write a research article analysing the difficulties associated with management of the NHS. This could help students substantiate evidence for their desire to study a specific degree course.