EPQ: UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS DELIVERS CRITICAL THINKING MASTERCLASS
13.10.2025HNC recently welcomed Milca Vidal Salas, a PHD student from University of Leeds, to deliver a critical thinking masterclass to the College’s Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) students, providing them with an invaluable analysis method that will support them as they complete their EPQ over the course of the academic year.
Students taking part in the College’s XL programme – our academic support programme for high achieving students – are invited to take part in the EPQ alongside their study programme. An EPQ, similar to a dissertation, is an academic passion project that allows students to develop independent study, referencing and essay writing skills while working on a project or subject of their choice – whether that is linked to their study programme, their future career vision or something else entirely!
During the session delivered by Milca, EPQ students learnt about the CRAAP (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) Test framework, a framework that helps to evaluate the credibility and reliability of information sources for data and research purposes. The method encourages the user to assess areas such as when the information was published, whether it is relevant to their study, and analyse whether the source of the information is trustworthy – an essential tool in building critical thinking, analysis and research skills, which will be needed to successfully complete the EPQ to a high standard.
Jan Kikezos, Teacher of English and EPQ Mentor, shares more “Students undertaking an EPQ at HNC benefit from a comprehensive support package, including guest speakers such as Milca. Throughout the process, our EPQ students are given the tools and resources to not only build academic knowledge in order to complete their EPQ successfully, but to also develop their wider skills in critical thinking and problem solving, which will support them far beyond their time in education. The EPQ is a well-respected qualification that prepares students for academic life at university, and also provides those who complete the qualification with additional UCAS points. Our current cohort of EPQ students are in the early planning phases of their projects, and as always, I am excited to hear more about their project plans!”
You can find out more about our EPQ programme at our upcoming open event taking place on Wednesday, 12 November. Doors open at 5:30pm and last entry is scheduled for 8pm.
New Hey Road, Huddersfield, HD3 4GL
