Being An Effective Researcher EPQ Conference 2026

At Ashton Sixth Form College, A2 students have the opportunity to take the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) as an addition alongside their studies. qualification allows students to explore a topic or area that particularly interests them, developing independent research and project management skills along the way.

For the fourth year running, students were invited to the Being An Effective Researcher EPQ Learner Conference. The event offered a fantastic opportunity for students to engage with a wide range of research-related topics.

Throughout the day, students heard from a range of guest speakers: Professor Kevin Orr from the University of Huddersfield, Lily Bissell from the University of Southampton, Emily Sharp from the University of Leeds as well as ASFC staff – Lisa Richards (College Principal) and Dr Rachel Allen (EPQ Co-ordinator). 

Students explored various topics, including the use of Artificial Intelligence, the importance of research and how to refine their EPQ topics.

EPQ Co-ordinator, Dr Rachel Allen commented:

"The day would not happen if we did not have such wonderful inputs from our specialist guest speakers covering great themes from the Importance of Research, Defining the Research Question, EPQ journaling, Academic Integrity and using AI, and Numeracy within Storytelling. Huge thanks go to our guest speakers, their input will appear in the reflections of the EPQ students’ journey taken with their own research which will be lovely to see!
As we progress through the academic year we will have further research opportunities with the EPQ Widening Participation teams from the University of Southampton and the University of Leeds - workshops on Research Methodology, Academic Writing, Presentation Skills, as well as adventures to University campuses for research time in their libraries to develop projects and get a real feel for what it is like to be a university student!!"