RECORD numbers of sixth-formers are expected to have taken a dissertation-style project this year to help give them an edge in gaining a university place.

The numbers of teenagers completing the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is expected to exceed 35,000, one expert has predicted – more than double the numbers who took it five years ago.

Southampton is among the top universities taking the EPQ into account and is understood to be the first to introduce an alternative offer for students taking the qualification.

Under this scheme, students applying for subjects including humanities, business, law and social sciences may be given two offers, one standard offer and another which allows them to gain a place if they have one grade lower in their A-levels and an A in the EPQ.

Head teachers said the qualification – which students take alongside A-levels – is becoming increasingly popular and can help to strengthen a candidate’s university application.

Students taking the EPQ, which is worth half an A-level, choose a topic, plan and research the issue and present their results.

Many show their work in a written report, although they could also put on a production, such as a fashion or sports event, or come up with a piece of art or design, or even create a computer game.

Figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) show that last summer, 33,245 candidates took the qualification, up 108 per cent from 15,958 in 2010.

It has proven slightly more popular with girls, with 19,967 entered in 2014, up 113 per cent in 2010, compared with 13,278 boys last year, which was up 101 per cent.

An analysis of the statistics also shows a rise in the numbers of students scoring good grades in the qualification, with a 39 per cent increase in A*-A grades, from 27.9 per cent in 2010 to 38.8 per cent in 2014.

Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at Buckingham University, said the rate of increase in the numbers of youngsters taking the EPQ has been tailing off, but still predicted to rise this summer.

“It is likely to be more than last year, but Perhaps only a couple of thousands more, reaching about 35,000 this year,” he said.

Prof Smithers said the rise in recent years may by down to schools seeing the qualification as a good experience that helps students with the move from being taught in schools to independent study at university.

There was also a belief that the EPQ would act as a tie-breaker for some universities to tell top students apart, Prof Smithers said, but this has become less important in the wake of the move to lift the cap on places, allowing institutions to recruit as many students as they like.

“The use of the EPQ by universities is patchy. Some are taking it into account, others are not attaching great importance to it,” he said.

“More than that, as the limit on places at top universities has come off, the need to make difficult decisions between students with similar qualifications has lessened.’’ Malcolm Trobe, deputy general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “Extended projects are becoming more and more popular. They are liked by universities and can help to strengthen a candidate’s application.

“They are phenomenally valuable in giving young people the opportunity to prepare themselves for university where they will spend much of their time studying and learning through their own research and reading.

“They teach a range of skills which help young people to study in this way, including being able to research and analyse an issue, collect the relevant information and data, and plan and write a paper.

“These skills are highly relevant to the way that students learn when they are at university.”