Most schools want to help to produce creative, autonomous students who can innovate. The question we need to ask ourselves is: how best can we do that?

At New Hall School, we recognised the skills of creativity and innovation as being fundamental not only for successful university applications and improved grades (Gill, 2016), but also for enabling students to make a difference in today’s society. We know that our country, and indeed our world, is facing extreme social, environmental, political and educational challenges. Can we dedicate time for students to research or reflect on these pertinent issues? And we know education is claimed to be most successful when its catalyst stems from genuine interest and intrigue (Xu, Coats and Davidson, 2012). How can we facilitate that in schools?

In light of all the above, we made a change: we expanded our use of project qualifications. These are best known for the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) and are a set of coursework-based qualifications that have a high degree of freedom around the topic focus and rely on research skills and self-motivation. The outcome is a qualification that is equivalent to either GCSEs or A level.

We were already putting a small group of students through an EPQ and had previously achieved a range of grades, between A*-E. Additionally, in 2017 we introduced the Foundation Project Qualification (FPQ) for Year 6 students, so a small group of students could achieve a foundation GCSE five years early. Between Year 7 and Year 11, however, most students had no exposure to this type of qualification.

We set about looking at how we could improve what we were already doing and bridge the gap between the Year 6 and Year 12 qualifications. Here’s what we did.

Cross-phase working

Firstly, we modified our delivery of the FPQ to our Year 6 students by inviting Year 12 EPQ students to volunteer to be mentors to them. This was a double-pronged approach to consolidate the learning processes for our sixth-form students, while scaffolding and enriching the skills required for the primary-aged classes. After negotiating dates and times with the Year 6 teachers, the six FPQ interventions took place on Tuesday afternoons. Students used these sessions to seek advice, respond to feedback, undertake further research, write their essays and rehearse for their exhibition presentation.

Introduction of the Higher Project Qualification

We introduced the Higher Project Qualification (HPQ) as a substitute for study periods for Year 10 students opting to take 10 subjects. The aim was to develop unique and complementary skills for students undertaking their GCSEs. The HPQ initially emerged on timetables as politics lessons and occurred five times a fortnight. We delivered the taught element of the course and students were encouraged to complete a project within nine to 18 months.

Introduction of academic project exhibitions

Lastly, we introduced academic project exhibitions. These were exhibitions of the project work that took place once a term, with all students completing the FPQ, HPQ and EPQ invited to take part. Each student set up their stall in the morning and was taken out of lessons for 15 to 20 minutes to deliver their formal presentation assessment. After this, the exhibition ran in an informal market-place set-up. We also hosted after-school exhibitions for students, staff, parents and external guests. This gave students the opportunity to demonstrate their presentation skills in an authentic setting, to collect additional data from a live audience, to promote the diversity of the projects and, most importantly, to share their findings with a wider audience.

How did it go? Managing and supervising the entire cohort of Year 6 pupils and a selection of Year 12 volunteers was not an easy feat. Although most pupils seemed to enjoy their research, some found it difficult to plan and manage their projects. Nevertheless, relationships began to build between the Year 6 and Year 12 students.

Year 6 students seemed to benefit from oneto-one supervision, as opposed to whole-class direction, and their research became more focused. Year 12 students noted that they found their own project logs easier to complete after advising and mentoring the Year 6 pupils.

Although we delivered the course to the entire cohort of 60 Year 6 pupils, only 16 decided to complete and enter a project. For our Year 6s completing the FPQ, the most significant improvement could be seen at the top end, as students achieving A* rose from 25 per cent to 62 per cent. Although there are numerous factors that may have influenced these grades, after one year, this was a significant improvement.

The HPQ was a new concept for Year 10s, and the autonomy and freedom of the course seemed to appeal to these students. The range of topics reflected their unique interests. Our students achieved 100 per cent A*-B and 80 per cent A*-A, with a mixture of robotic designs, creative-writing pieces and environmental and educational debates. In general, the Year 10s view the projects as an opportunity to explore a topic freely and autonomously, without being bound by curriculum pressures.

The project exhibitions have been a huge success for raising the profile of the projects and for providing a platform for students to disseminate their findings. Through sharing and discussing their research, many students have been made aware of opportunities to circulate their creations and findings further.

For example, students have since entered external competitions, distributed their findings with local businesses, sought publishing advice and contacted agencies and charities to share their initiatives. The exhibitions have also shown students that creative, meaningful projects are just as valuable and worthwhile as formal, academic dissertations. Thus, these events have contributed to transforming the attitude towards these qualifications.

While there are a multitude of factors that can impact on results, our EPQ grades rose from 88 per cent A*-C to 100 per cent, from 68 per cent A*-B to 88 per cent and from 40 per cent A*-A to 59 per cent.

For 2019-20, we have made some further changes to enhance the projects. Firstly, in order to make our Year 6 interventions more effective, we now target students who are interested in completing a project, rather than the entire cohort. We now have 35 students undertaking the FPQ. To make management of this easier, we are also working with the Year 6 teachers and preparatory librarians, who are assisting with the supervision of the early stages of their projects.

Another significant change is that we have now made the HPQ a core GCSE subject for all students studying 10 subjects. Students have five periods a fortnight to work on their projects, and, while all students are expected to use this time to research and develop their skills, they are not obligated to enter for the qualification, but are able to up until the summer term of Year 11.

Finally, we noticed that changes to many areas of the EPQ could improve its structure and delivery. For example, the fact that students could begin the EPQ at any stage throughout the year meant that they often missed key components of the taught skills. As well as being detrimental to students’ learning, this also made timetabling and supervision challenging. In order to overcome this, we have introduced a university-style EPQ lecture and seminar series. The whole cohort of Year 12 students attend five research skills lectures and five supervisor-led seminars in the first half-term of the year. After the first five weeks, students can then opt out of the course.

This initiative also aims to educate students about the benefits of the EPQ, especially those who may disregard the projects based on prior assumptions or misunderstandings.

I would urge schools to consider project qualifications for their students. Their unique, student-led and flexible structure can enable students to make an enormous difference to our ever-changing world.

Laura Beatty is academic projects coordinator at New Hall School, Chelmsford

If you would like any additional information or resources for the projects, please contact l.beatty@newhallschool.co.uk

This article originally appeared in the 28 February 2020 issue under the headline “Fancy a project? Build a course to inspire creativity”