Project rationale:
Robin chose this project because he is interested in woodworking and music. Building and designing the guitar incorporated maths and engineering skills, including detailed and intricate processes and drawing and designing. Robin is thinking about doing engineering or mathematics after Hills.

Project highlights:
Planning: Robin managed his time with multiple project breakdowns and Gantt charts
Research: Exploring key areas of building and designing a guitar was critical to his project
Skill development: Combining hand drawing and digital design using Procreate was best for designing the guitar
Evaluation: Sourcing high-quality materials allowed Robin to create a better guitar, and he also got his materials for free!

Project rationale:
Rose's project was a dissertation on the oppression of women and their resistance in Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. She chose to do it in response to the contemporary political discussions surrounding female reproductive rights worldwide, such as the abolition of Roe v. Wade

Project highlights:
Planning: Rose read the novel in great depth before creating a plan for her dissertation, using the key ideas she had developed through her reading and research
Research: She used ideas from the novel to direct her secondary research, which she conducted on a variety of social, political and literary topics
Skill development: Rose extensively learned about political developments in women’s rights, along with supporting topics to form her argument
Evaluation: She was really engaged in her topic, which helped her find the focus she needed to write
her dissertation. Taking a structured approach with a defined schedule and timeline helped Rose to succeed.

Project rationale:
Sam has always loved playing video games and watching Esports, so hosting one himself was a really
exciting concept. When Sam is older, he wants to get into either the screen or the video game industry, and this project combines both.

Project highlights:
Planning: Developing a precise schedule and building in contingencies helped a lot
Research: Sam did lots of research into the different types of eSports tournaments
Skill development: Hosting, presenting and communication were core skills he had to perfect
Evaluation: The tools Sam used, such as weekly progress reviews and a diary of successes, were crucial to delivering the event.

Project rationale:
Sophie chose to direct and produce a play for her EPQ because her main passions are theatre and acting. She is extremely comfortable acting, but wanted to stretch herself and develop her performance skills, as she had never directed a play before.

Project highlights:
Planning: Sophie maintained a thorough log full of details, skills, and photos throughout her project
Research: Her focus was on staging the play and the story's political context. The challenge was communicating that quickly on stage
Skill development: Sophie made photographic records of everything she did to make it easy for someone looking at her work to understand the context and what was happening
Evaluation: She took every opportunity to evaluate her work by responding to peer and mentor feedback.