Reply To: Year 12 (Grade 11) Interrobang!? Inquiry Course @ Blanchelande College

[Jenny Toerien Keymaster]

Impact on the Extended project Qualification

With my other hat on, as EPQ co-ordinator, the Interrobang course meant that those who opted into the EPQ (immediately after the Interrobang course ended) had a much clearer sense of what they were opting into. The early dropout rate was much lower for a start – indeed, no-one has yet dropped out this year, 4 months in, whereas last year we lost almost a third in the first few weeks as those who came to the initial ‘taster’ sessions realised it wasn’t for them. Also, which was much more difficult to manage, last year we had three students try to opt in after the course had already started and in some cases had been running for several months. Although I gave them considerable support to get up to speed, none of these late opt-ins eventually finished the course. This year’s group seems much more stable and most of them settled on a broad topic relatively quickly, giving them much more time to refine it before submitting their Candidate Proposal. They are also starting from a higher skill level, making it possible to develop those skills even further.

Finally, I think it has encouraged a much wider range of students to pursue this opportunity. While it is necessary for students to be able to balance an extra 90 hour workload with their other A-level subjects, the EPQ is not intended to be only for the ‘top’ students (however that is defined), and I firmly believe that it can be a life transforming experience for anyone (as long as they have the passion to pursue their interest – I don’t think it would be a good idea for us to make it compulsory although I know a number of schools do). My cohort this year includes a number of students with a range of different Special Educational Needs (including significant dyslexia and processing speed issues) who I am not sure would have necessarily chosen the EPQ without the experience of the preceding Interrobang course and who are really flourishing and benefitting from the skills they are learning.

For anyone interested in discussing or investigating the EPQ further, there is a forum topic here 

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions about inquiry/induction courses at Year 12/Grade 11 level please do comment below. We are always looking to improve our provision year-on-year and have so much still to learn.