The extended project is a flexible level 3 qualification that will help candidates develop the skills required by employers and universities. They will learn how to plan, research, carry out, complete, present and critique a piece of work.

Key features:

• Available as:
  • a stand-alone qualification (for example alongside A levels)
  • an essential element of the Progression or Advanced Diploma.
• Free choice of topic, provided it is relevant to a student's educational or career aspirations.
• Flexible choice of output, for example, a dissertation, an investigative report or a composition.
• Equivalent to half an A level in size (AS level).

What's happening and when

• Until summer 2008: Pilots underway awarding valid qualifications.
• September 2007: Specifications available to centres offering the extended project as a qualification during the 2008/09 academic year.
• From September 2008: Centres offering the Progression or Advanced Diploma must offer the extended project; other centres could offer it as a stand-alone qualification.

Changes to look out for

• Dates for assessments, levels of control of the assessment, grade differentiators and methods of moderation or verification - all will be available in the specifications.

What you should do now

• If your centre intends offering the Progression or Advanced Diploma, discuss what plans there are for the extended projects with your Line of Learning leaders.
• Otherwise, find out from your heads of curriculum/year whether there are plans to introduce the extended project in your centre.