EPQ Trip to Bucks New University

In order to achieve high marks in EPQ, students must use a wide range of materials. Nowadays it’s so easy to go on to the internet to find a response quickly; for the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) this is not enough.

The EPQ teachers organised a trip to, the state of the art, Bucks New University library in High Wycombe to use their wide range of resources such as books and journals.

On arrival at the university, we went to a classroom to discuss what we were doing for the day. After that there was a tour of the campus. Looking at the campus was an education in itself: it really made the students realise how different university life is.

Next, GMS students had a library tour; the information explained how the library worked and how to fully utilise their resources. The shelves were remarkable! They were automated: to make them move you pressed a button on the shelf; it was so cool…even for a sixth former! The library was huge; it took 10 minutes to figure out what was where!  

The library at Great Marlow has a limited range of books about crime, which is my chosen topic. In comparison, the library at Bucks New University had so many books about crime. I found a specific book for each one of my sub-questions! Students were allowed to take a huge pile of books to a table where a careful referencing note of each book, journal, periodical and article was made. An important resource was the photocopier because it was possible to photocopy relevant pages so that the work could be continued back at school.  Sadly, there was not enough time in the library to reference all the relevant sources.

Overall, the trip was really helpful. Students, who were lucky enough to be on the trip, have benefited from visiting such a fantastic library. Certainly, I will go back to Bucks New University to gather more resources!

Emily Roberts-Moore