PSPQ – preparing Year 8s for their next steps

In our final week of remote learning, our Year 8 pupils have begun learning about the PSPQ.
This is the Pre-Senior Project qualification, a key component of the Pre-Senior Baccalaureate programme of study, which they will be working on in the Trinity term.
This project gives the pupils the opportunity to develop their independence, their curiosity, their time management, their research skills, their communication skills and their reflective learner skills.

Learners are required, with support, where appropriate, to:
● select an appropriate topic
● identify a question or brief which specifies an intended project outcome
● produce a plan for how they will deliver their intended outcome
● conduct research into the project brief using appropriate techniques
● develop the intended outcome using selected tools and techniques safely
● demonstrate the capacity to see a project through to completion
● share the outcome of the project, including a review of their own learning and
performance with others, using appropriate communication methods.

This project is incredibly helpful as it prepares our pupils for the next step of their education and for the workplace further down the line. The process of putting this project together provides pupils with an opportunity to develop the skills which schools, colleges and employers are looking for. The PSPQ is a fantastic precursor to the EPQ (Extended Project Qualification) and follows the same criteria. The EPQ is offered in the Sixth Form and is worth half an A-Level and valued highly by universities and colleges.
In our sessions so far, we have heard from Langley pupils from last year’s Year 8 who spoke enthusiastically and honestly about the value of the PSPQ; what they learnt from it, the skills they developed, and what they would do differently next time.
Our Year 8 pupils have just started putting some ideas down on paper, thinking about their interests and what would make a good question to investigate and discuss.
It was a huge success last year, and we are thoroughly looking forward to seeing what the pupils can achieve and what skills they can develop.