上一学年，广州耀华引入并开展了一门新的学术课程——剑桥IPQ（国际项目资格证书），课程由西方校长Mr. Aaron教授，并由外籍老师Mr. Karl协助（他们两位分别毕业于英国G5高校伦敦大学学院和剑桥大学）。我们参加该项目课程的两名学生Nicole和Charles均取得课程最高成绩A*的优异成绩。

YWIES Guangzhou introduced a new academic course last year, the Cambridge International Project Qualification (IPQ). Taught by our Co-Principal Mr. Aaron and supported by Mr. Karl, both graduates of G5 universities UCL and Cambridge respectively, our two students Nicole and Charles who took this course both achieved the highest A* grade for their IPQ.

IPQ是一门以技能为基础的资格证书课程，为期一年，最后学生将学习过程和研究成果撰写成一份报告，以扩展他们的技能和对课外学习领域的某一主题的理解。通过IPQ课程，学生能够锻炼更高层次的思维能力，如分析、评价和综合能力，这些是大学学习和将来就业的核心技能。

Nicole和Charles就他们感兴趣的研究课题分别完成了一份5000字的学术报告。他们选取确定一个研究问题，对各自的课题进行研究，并在研究日志中记录他们的进展。学校向他们提供资源，得以访问全球的学术图书馆，并对他们如何撰写学术论文、参考资料和开展不同类型的研究提供指导。

The IPQ is a skills-based qualification that can be completed in one year and students produce a report that extends their skills and understanding of a topic beyond their normal curriculum learning.  Students develop higher order thinking skills such as analysis, evaluation and synthesis, essential skills for universities and for employment.

Nicole说：“IPQ是一门让我可以自由选择自己感兴趣的话题的课程，同时也让我具备了研究和思考的能力，让我能够探索自己感兴趣的大问题。”在IPQ课程中我学到了很多技能，包括研究技能，英语技能，以及如何写一篇较高水平的学术研究论文:从命题问题的措辞到引文的编辑等等。

Mr. Aaron校长给予了我非常专业的指导。按计划，他每周与我和Charles上一节IPQ课程。不过，我还经常给Aaron校长发邮件，咨询更多的疑问，希望他能给我进一步的指导，校长的反馈非常有帮助。学校在我们申请IPQ 开题报告的过程中也给予很大的支持，给我们准备了相关的流程和文件，并给我们讲解清楚。

当你为IPQ论文选择主题问题时，你也是在探索你的兴趣和未来大学专业或职业的潜在方向。如果你在研究这个课题时充满激情，这可能意味着你对这个领域有着潜在的热情。这种激情正是大学招生官所期待的。

一旦你完成了IPQ并收到了CAIE的评分，你就可以在你的个人陈述中写上这个资质，甚至在面试时谈论这一学习项目。它能表明你对这个领域有着真正的热情，并为此做了额外的努力。”

Nicole said that, “the IPQ is a course that allowed me to choose a topic of my interest freely while equipping me with research and thinking skills that enabled me to explore big questions that I am curious in. I have learned many skills from the IPQ course, including research skills, English skills, and how to write an academic research paper at a relatively high level: from phrasing the topic question to editing citations and more. 

I received fantastic and professional guidance from Mr. Aaron. As scheduled, he would meet Charles and I for IPQ course classes once a week. However, I often emailed Mr. Aaron for further guidance and his feedbacks were extremely helpful. The school was also great when supporting us for IPQ proposal application, related procedures and paperwork were prepared and explained clearly to IPQ students. 

When you choose your topic question for IPQ paper, you are exploring your interests and potential directions of future university majors or careers. If you feel self-motivated when researching for this topic, it could mean that you have an underlying passion for this field. This passion is what university officers are looking for. 

Once you have complete IPQ and receive your grade from CAIE, you can use this qualification in your personal statement and even talk about it in interviews. This will show universities that you have a true passion in this field and has done additional work for it. ”

当被问及为什么想要学习IPQ课程时，Charles回答道:“我想学习IPQ，是因为它能让我在我感兴趣的领域进一步探索，而且这也是一个提升自己研究能力的机会。在这个过程中，我学会了如何从多个角度思考，以及各种决定性因素如何相互影响。学校除了支持我按计划进行课程的学习外，还教会我如何简明扼要地表达想法。IPQ让我在专业上有了进一步的探索，坚定了我的热情，让我看到了环境工程广阔的外延。这一学习过程，更坚定了我对工程专业的热情和决心。”

Nicole和Charles就两个截然不同的主题撰写了出色的学术报告，其中包括：核聚变作为能源的可行性，和城市设计如何影响城市居民的生活质量。

IPQ项目在第一年取得了成功的开端，因而今年将有更多的12年级学生选择在2020-21年学习IPQ课程。

When asked why he wanted the study the IPQ, Charles responded by saying “I wanted to study the IPQ because it enabled me to further my understanding in my field of interest. It was also an opportunity to enhance my research capabilities. During the process, I learned how to think from multiple perspectives, and how various deterministic factors interact amongst one another. The school supported me not only by keeping me on track, but also demonstrating how to express ideas succinctly. IPQ granted me further exploration in my major, it cemented my passion, and it showed me the expanse of environmental engineering. After the process, I am convinced of my enthusiasm and determination towards my major in Engineering.”

Nicole and Charles produced superb academic reports on two very different topics which included: the viability of nuclear fusion as an energy source, and how urban design impacts upon the quality of life for city dwellers.

Such has been the success of the inaugural programme that several more students starting in Grade 12 this year have opted to study for IPQ in 2020-21.