Meeting HPQ requirements

Students gain an Higher Project Qualification (HPQ) by planning, researching, reviewing and completing a project. Their product, either a written report, essay or prototype design is assessed, along with the process that students followed. HPQ has 4 Assessment Objectives:

  • AO1: Be able to choose, plan and manage a project
  • AO2: Be able to research information and apply it to a project
  • AO3: Be able to select and apply skills to complete a project
  • AO4: Be able to review a project and own performance, and analyse the project outcomes

Meeting these objectives demands greater competence in scientific practices and transferable skills than most students develop in GCSE. Here is a list of what the course teaches. These outcomes are described in detail in the Project Science teaching syllabus.

Practices for Investigation project (science)

  • AO1: Devise questions, Construct explanations, Test hypotheses, Plan variables, Estimate risks:
  • AO2: Interrogate sources, Review theories, Collect data, Critique claims
  • AO3: Communicate ideas
  • AO4: Present data, Analyse patterns, Draw conclusions, Justify opinions, Discuss limitations

Additional practices for Design projects (engineering)

  • AO1: Specify problems:
  • AO2: Imagine solutions:
  • AO3: Prototype solutions:
  • AO4: Evaluate designs

Additional practices for Research projects (desk-based essays)

  • AO2: Integrate evidence
  • AO4: Examine consequences, Use ethics

Transferable skills :

  • For all AOs: Independent learning, Collaboration, Problem-solving,

HPQ Grades

Students tend to score highly at HPQ as the 2022-23 results from one of the Awarding Bodies show:

 

Grade

 

 

% students

 
A* 69.5%
A*-A 86.9%
A*-B 91.3%
A*-C 95.6%

 

The HPQ is graded on students' outputs and the evidence they submit and will result in:

  • Grade A* - equivalent to a grade 9 at GCSE.
  • Grade A - equivalent to a grade 7.
  • Grade B - corresponds to grades 5 or 6.
  • Grade C - matches grade 4.
  • Grade U - unclassified.