Independent Project Research in St George's Signature Curriculum

The most future-ready students are those who can learn, adapt, and think critically in environments that are constantly evolving. At St George’s, our unique project pathways ensure that students step into their future equipped with the skills they need to thrive.

Space to explore and reflect isn’t an extra ad-on, it’s built into our Signature Curriculum. The breadth of interests shown in our extracurricular IPQ, HPQ, EPQ projects are an integral part of how excellence develops inside and outside the classroom.

St George’s is one of the few schools in Scotland to offer the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), and the only to start the pathway in Remove (S1) with the Independent Project Qualification (IPQ).

IPQ students identify a question, develop their views through independent research, and present their project to teachers. The IPQ provides a supportive introduction to research, meaning that St George’s students start senior school feeling emboldened to couple their inquisitiveness with investigation.

The HPQ gives students a more focused structure in which to deepen their research skills and understanding, which are then marked by St George’s and moderated externally by AQA.

Some of this year’s HPQ projects include:

Ludovico, ‘How effective have social reforms been in addressing racial discrimination in the US Criminal Justice system?

Emmie, ‘What is the environmental and economic impact of organic vs non-organic farming?’

Fatima, ‘What is the relationship between black holes and the evolution of galaxies?’

Undertaken in sixth form, the EPQ places just as much emphasis on the progress of the research as well as the result. Students choose between a 5000-word report or an artifact with 1000 words. The EPQ is equivalent to 28 UCAS points. Many universities make lower A-level offers to EPQ students, recognising the exceptional organisational and research skills that the project demands.

Some of this year’s EPQ projects include:

Adora, ‘How can Feng Shui practices influence wellbeing in domestic spheres?’

Deepti, ‘How will Quantum Computing address computational bottlenecks and revolutionise drug discovery?’

CJ, ‘Throughout the 20th century, is science fiction regarding labour politics and ideology used as a vehicle for anti-establishment thought, or pro-establishment thought?

Lucy, ‘How do game mechanics, level design and storytelling improve the player's gaming experience?’

Poppy, ‘The rebuilding of London and Berlin, modernism or traditionalism: why did Germany and Britain choose different paths when reconstructing their major cities post WW2?’

The next steps after school can be a challenging one, but St George’s students leave with a nourished love of learning and a firm understanding of independent research.