The Extended Project Qualification

The Extended Project (EPQ) is a Level 3 qualification equivalent to an AS-level. It provides an opportunity for students to extend their abilities beyond the A-level specification, stand out, and prepare for university or their future career. It can also be used to earn extra UCAS points. In addition, it allows students to develop skills such as critical and analytical thinking, independent learning, research, and project management.

The Extended Project Qualification will develop and extend from one or more of the student’s study areas and/or from an area of personal interest or activity outside their main programme of study. It will be based on a topic chosen by the student and agreed by Kingsley staff.
With appropriate supervision, students are required to:
• Choose an area of interest
• Draft a title and aims of the project for formal approval by the centre
• Plan, research, and carry out the project
• Deliver a presentation to a specified audience and often a 5,000-word piece of research
• Provide evidence of all stages of project development and production for assessment

Assessment of progress is carried out by our experienced staff.

The EPQ is gaining in popularity with universities, and some will lower their offer grades if an applicant is studying towards an EPQ. This is illustrated by the following quotes from online prospectuses:

University of Southampton
“Students could use their project at interview stage and/or in their UCAS personal statement. Certain courses at the University will count ‘A’ grades achieved in the extended project towards their entry criteria.”

University of Manchester
“The skills that students develop through the Extended Project are excellent preparation for university-level study.”

University of Liverpool
“We encourage candidates to draw upon their experience of undertaking the project when writing their personal statement.”

Previous Kingsley students’ EPQ titles have included:
• “What can be found out from our solar system about the habitability of extra-solar planetary systems with specific focus on Gliese 581?”
• “A comparison of Holisticity in Pre and Post Hippocratic medicine and contemporary medicine.”
• “Exploring the role of speech therapy in the rehabilitation of a stroke patient.”