By Emily M. Fourth Form

Over the first two terms of Fourth Form, some students were involved in the additional qualification of the HPQ.

So, what is it? HPQ stands for the Higher Project Qualification and is considered as half of a GCSE. It is available during the year of Fourth Form.

Recently I talked to two students who had completed their projects:

Amy D researched how and why ancient Egyptian burial practices changed between 6200-30 BC. Then, over many weeks of understanding and collecting information using videos, documentaries, and books, she had a collection of notes, which she sectioned into subtopics. This all goes into an essay which then goes away to be marked. This is all followed by a presentation night. “There is also a third part of the HPQ which was personally my favourite, which was our presentation.” I attended this presentation night and listened to Amy’s project. It was incredibly interesting, and I learnt a lot of things that I didn’t know before such as the divide of the hierarchy. Amy summarised her information to put it onto one big poster with interactive feature: for example, illustrating the body to show the specific position in which the ancient Egyptians were buried. In this presentation night, students had to interact with parents, teachers, and students which Amy found good practice for public speaking. In the end Amy got an 8 in her HPQ which is incredibly good!

Evie M, another student involved in the HPQ, researched dreams and to what extent they are influenced by conscious life. Evie also researched from books, documentaries, articles and videos; however, she learnt the importance of recognising fake news and ensuring that her information was accurate, and recommended others to create a sure plan before starting. Evie had certain factors which lead to poor sleep and how that will cause strange dreams. This was quite interesting to me as this is something that happens in everyday life. Overall, Evie received an A* which is also amazing.

Both students say that it was a lot of hard work, however it was a great experience and they have learnt a lot from it, for example how to write a bibliography, and they got practice of public speaking. The others doing the HPQ were said to be kind and supportive, like Mr Smith! He was the driving force of the HPQ, keeping it all in check and supporting them along the way with their research. Mr Smith has been leading the HPQ course for two years now, and it will be sad to see him go as members of this year’s project highlighted how he was always able to have a laugh and that his encouragement really powered them to push through.

Both students recommend the HPQ to everyone, as they said that you gain many skills. It is a fun activity to do with your friends, and it’s a good chance to learn about a topic of your interest. Essentially, you just learn about whatever you want, and you get to count it as half of a GCSE!