Important Information

Students entering Year 11 at St John’s in 2023 will undertake their final years of schooling, culminating for some, in the Higher School Certificate Examinations in 2024.

Students who leave school prior to completing their HSC, will receive the NSW Record of School Achievement (RoSA). The RoSA will provide an ongoing cumulative record for students recording grades for all courses completed in Years 10, 11 and 12. It will be issued to students when they leave the school education system. The Higher School Certificate (HSC) is the highest educational certificate one can gain in New South Wales schools. It is an internationally recognised credential that assists students with developing a strong foundation for their future, be it they pursue tertiary qualifications, vocational training or employment.

All syllabuses include Australian curriculum content and reflect the new directions of the Stronger HSC Standards reforms.

Students completing their HSC are required to demonstrate that they meet the HSC Minimum Standard in order to receive the HSC. The HSC Minimum standard was introduced as part of the NSW Government’s Literacy and Numeracy Strategy.

The HSC minimum standard is set at Level 3 of the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). The ACSF is a nationally agreed framework used to identify and develop core skills required for personal, community, work and training contexts. Level 3 of the ACSF describes the functional literacy and numeracy skills required for life after school, for work and further education.

NESA syllabuses support a standards-referenced approach to assessment by giving students a grounding in the fundamental subject matter and allow the time to develop depth of the important knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes and outline clear standards of what students are expected to know and be able to do. The syllabuses take into account the diverse needs of all students and provide structures and processes by which teachers can provide continuity of study for all students.

The best preparation students can give themselves for a place in the twenty first century is a broad education. This decade has seen the nature of social, technological, and economic change require students to have a greater awareness of emerging employment opportunities, and keep in mind the changing nature of the labour market. It is likely that students will change their career several times during their working life. Indeed, it is likely that the job in which a student will be engaged in fifteen years’ time has not yet been developed. For this reason, it is important that students be aware of overspecialisation at this stage of their education.

The selection of subjects is critical, not only to the student’s academic success but also to entry into preferred career pathways.

With this in mind, subject choices must be worked through carefully. Consideration needs to be given to vocational courses, University pre-requisites, and how subjects are packaged to provide a broad coverage of career options. While it is useful for students to study courses that fit in with their career aspirations, it is also important they put together a course of study that will not limit their post-school pathways. Particularly if a student is unsure of what they want to do after they leave school, they should undertake to study courses that will maximise their choice at the end of Year 12. If a student does have a particular career pathway in mind, it is advisable they meet with the Careers Advisor, Mrs Hill. Many courses have pre-requisites or assumed knowledge. Students must ensure they undertake any mandatory areas of study required for their chosen pathway.

Sometimes students are under the misapprehension that by studying a particular course they will automatically attain a higher score. This is a misunderstanding of how the system works. If a student wants to maximise their ATAR, they are best advised to study courses at which they do best and hold their greatest interest. It is important to understand that for a student to attain the best possible result, they must select the right courses at the right level.

St John’s is a Catholic School. With this in mind, students will understand that they are required to study Religious Education as a course in Years 11 and 12. Religious Education will play an important role in the student’s life throughout Years 11 and 12; not just through academic study, but also through spiritual and personal development and citizenship in their daily life.

Students are encouraged to read the information in this booklet and give consideration to the following points when selecting their course:

• the pathway they wish to pursue;

• their specific interests;

• their own assessment of their abilities;

• advice from their teacher / KLA coordinator/ Careers Advisor; and

• Information from other relevant sources.