Extended Project Level 3 (EPQ)

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS FOR SEPTEMBER 2027 ENTRY

Entry Requirements - Please follow the link and download our Options Guide to view the entry requirements for Sixth Form and individual subjects https://www.queenelizabeths.kent.sch.uk/learning/sixth-form/thinking-about-joining-queen-elizabeths-grammar-school-for-sixth-form/

How to Apply:

Applications will open in November 2026.

Internals - Google Form - Speak to Mr Cowlam or Mrs Gossling

Externals - Through Kent Choices

https://www.queenelizabeths.kent.sch.uk/learning/sixth-form/applying-to-the-sixth-form/

DEADLINE: Gaining a place at our Sixth Form is incredibly competitive. To ensure we can follow the correct processes for making offers and gathering information appropriately, the deadline for all applications, internal and external, will be Friday 26th February 2027 at 15.00.

Following this deadline, external applicants that are considered to have met the requirements for a Conditional Offer will receive a notification via Kent Choices. You will also be invited to an Online Application Meeting in March 2027. This meeting will be a compulsory stage of the application process and will provide details of the next steps and what is required to gain a place in our Sixth Form for September 2027. Any applicants that do not attend the meeting will have their Conditional Offer withdrawn.

External applicants that attend the meeting will retain their Conditional Offer and gain access to the next stage of the application process.

Internal Applicants have an automatic conditional offer. Following the deadline, students will attend a 1-2-1 meeting to discuss your options. You will not be able to make any changes to your subject choices until the Option Blocks have been created around the end of Term 5.

What to include in your application:

You must select a minimum AND maximum of 5 subject choices:

Option A - 3 main subject choices* + an enhancement subject choice** + a reserve subject choice***

Option B - 4 main subject choices + a reserve subject choice

*a main subject choice is a full A Level subject e.g Mathematics/Geography/Physics/German etc

** an enhancement subject choice is either EPQ, Maths in Context or Trinity Acting Exams

***a reserve choice can be either a full A Level or another enhancement option

This is an enhancement course

Skills that will be developed:

To devise, design, plan and manage a project selected from a choice of dissertation, design, artefact, performance or investigation and work independently. To critically select research and organise a range of resources and sources relevant to the chosen outcome and, be able to use, reference and reflect upon these resources/sources. To develop and realise the chosen project outcome and project management evaluation report through logical, planned stages until their fruition, being able to meet own identified goals and deadlines and reflect upon progress. To evaluate, review and reflect upon all aspects of the project and own learning and performance. To communicate the outcome to a specified audience, reflecting on the process of doing the project and evaluating the audience feedback of own performance.

Enrichment:

Doing an Extended Project is great for building confidence and broadening horizons because you are free to be independent, creative, practical and academic. The self-fulfilment benefits are highly rewarding. You can be led by your curiosity and you can pursue and plan an idea to see how it evolves and takes shape over time. You demonstrate to yourself, your family, your teachers, universities and future employers what you can achieve on your own, showing that you have enterprise, initiative, self-motivation and, impressive, competent presentation skills.

You must achieve at least 33 points from your best six GCSEs, achieving a grade 6 in English. Students must be well motivated, independent and very organised in order to complete a demanding and challenging project. It is a big commitment.

Universities really value the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), as it helps them to select students with a genuine commitment to their chosen subject and a head-start in the independent learning skills that Higher Education demands. These skills are transferable, not just for undergraduate and postgraduate university experience, but to the workplace, career and beyond. The EPQ formally begins in January of Year 12, allowing relevant study skills to be taught in Terms 1 and 2, and time to select and develop a topic. The EPQ is completed by November of Year 13, which then frees-up time to devote to other “A” level subjects.