Mrs Lewis first meets with the Lower Sixth students to kick off the project in the first half of the Autumn Term, and the project runs through to the following Autumn Term, by which time they are Upper Sixth students, ready to present their completed projects to an audience of peers and staff. The first stage of the project sees the group meeting with Mrs Lewis for two lessons each fortnight, in which they investigate ethical considerations of undertaking research projects and focus on developing key skills. Using some of the syllabus content from what was the Critical Thinking A Level, the girls consider planning and Gantt charts; critical analysis; credibility criteria; research methods; interviewing techniques; surveying tactics; interpreting statistics; report writing, and much more.
By the February of their Lower Sixth year some of the girls will have selected their topics and started thinking about framing their projects. Each girl has the first of four one to one meetings with Mrs Lewis, to confirm their topic and to discuss their research plans. The EPQ topics that are covered vary enormously each year, as the girls really are able to build a project that is unique to their interests and preferred styles of working, but some recent examples include: the role of graffiti; the music of Henry Purcell; differences in the social construct of gender between the UK and the USA; the love-hate relationship between society and punk rock; technology as a tool to combat human trafficking; child marriage in Nigeria; and an analysis of factors influencing the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa.
The next meeting takes place in June, once initial research has been completed, and at which point Mrs Lewis will work with the girls to finalise a title. The girls will then spend as much time as they like over the summer break between their Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth year conducting primary research – for instance through surveys and questionnaires or site visits – analysing the information they have found, and beginning to construct their projects. Projects can vary depending on the topic and the student in question, from the more traditional 5,000 word essay to, for example, a devised dance performance or the production of an artefact (both of which would require a 1,500 to 2,000 word supporting report).
By the November of their Upper Sixth year, the girls will all have met with Mrs Lewis for the third of their one to one meetings for a mid-project review, to discuss how things are going and to iron out any problems that may have arisen over the summer. The girls have until Christmas to meet with Mrs Lewis for the final time, for the final project review, and to then submit their project before the Christmas break.