Extended Project Qualification (EPQ)

This term has seen members of the Upper Sixth reaching the end of their EPQ journeys while boys in the Lower Sixth take their first steps on the same path.

The projects being completed have covered an incredible array of topics and academic disciplines, ranging from the significance of the threat posed by the Soviet Navy during the Cold War, to the conceptual framing of justice in Agatha Christie novels, to the factors influencing stock market volatility. In the process of putting these projects together, boys have sifted through academic journals, performed action research, interviewed public figures including former politicians and admirals, and documented their findings in exhaustive detail. 

The culmination of some of these projects came on the afternoon of Friday 18 November, when 12 boys from the Upper Sixth delivered their EPQ Presentations. They spoke with authority on their subject matter and the lessons they had learned from completing the project, and responded well to probing questions from their audiences, which included friends, tutors, teachers, and parents in addition to their EPQ supervisors. The quality of the presentations on show was testament to the fantastic support and encouragement the supervisors have provided to the boys, both by consulting on their plans and ideas for the duration of the EPQ, and by rehearsing with them and supporting them on the day. The spirit and endeavour which this programme has brought out in the boys has been emblematic of the level of academic achievement which can be attained at Sherborne. 

Nick Hall, Teacher of Classics and EPQ Co-ordinator