Students at Dereham High Sixth Form College have achieved outstanding results in a new research-based qualification for which the school was a 'pilot school'.

Students at Dereham High Sixth Form College have achieved outstanding results in a new research-based qualification for which the school was a 'pilot school'.

The Extended Project Qualification, which is recognised as a full AS level and is highly regarded by university admissions tutors, enables students to write an original research paper or create artefacts or artistic pieces and to record the progress in a diary.

Submissions from the 23 Dereham students were wide-ranging.

They included work on a medieval painting, nuclear fusion research, the decline of the Mayan civilisation, earth-sheltered houses, coastal erosion in Norfolk and the design of clothes and accessories made from recycled material. Of the students who took the qualification, 52pc achieved an A grade (including 16pc gaining the new A* ) and 100pc were in the A-C range.

The college is now looking forward to introducing the Qualification to current Year 12 students in a new programme of study demonstrating depth of study, breadth of curriculum and independent learning as well as documented commitment to community action and personal development.

As a pilot school for the research-based qualification, the Dereham school has already been approached by other schools and colleges to help them set up similar programmes.