Year 11 and 12

At Year 11 and 12, students are encouraged to select subjects to support an identified pathway - whether it be tertiary studies through university or TAFE, apprenticeships or traineeships, short courses, or moving into the workplace. 

Students will be counselled to consider specific tertiary pre-requisites when selecting their subjects. Glen Eira College offer both the VCE and VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM) pathways, to ensure all students have access to quality educational opportunities to support their chosen future.

VCE students study five subjects per semester. Each subject has five one-hour lessons per week.

VCE subjects are arranged into four sequential units. Units 1 and 2 are generally studied in Semester 1 and 2 of Year 11, whilst Unit 3 and 4 are generally studied in Semester 1 and 2 of Year 12. Some Year 11 students will have studied Units 1 and 2 of a subject in Year 10, which means they can continue their studies of this as a Unit 3 and 4 subject in Year 11.

All VCE students must study at least one subject from the English learning area, which covers English, English as an Additional Language (EAL), English Language, or Literature.

VCE students can include a VET course as part of their course.

The minimum VCE requirement is satisfactory completion of 16 units, that must include

• 3 units from the English learning area, including a Unit 3 and 4 sequence

• 3 additional Unit 3 and 4 sequences, which can include further sequences from the English group 

For more information about VCE eligibility, please visit https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/administration/vce-administrative-handbook/vce

The VCE VM pathway is a vocational and applied learning program. It includes studies with school-based assessments that do not provide a study score towards an ATAR.  VCE VM studies contribute to a program that is designed to be completed over a minimum of 2 years. VCE VM studies are specific VCE applied learning studies that enable students to learn knowledge and skills in the context of ‘real life’ experiences. VCE VM studies can be tailored to the needs and interests of the student to enable them to focus on developing their skills and readiness for employment or further education and training. All VCE VM studies are benchmarked against comparable national and international curriculum. 

In general, the VCE VM course is designed for students who are looking to move straight into the workplace, or further education through the TAFE system. The VCE VM course is not suitable for students planning to go to university. Students do not complete scored assessments, including examinations, and will not receive an ATAR.

VCE VM students study five subjects per semester.  Four of the subjects are studied at Glen Eira College: Literacy, Numeracy, Personal Development Skills and Work Related Skills.

These subjects are studied at school across three days per week.

The fifth subject as part of the VCE VM program is a VET course, which is generally studied on a Wednesday. 

Students in the VCE VM program participate in Structured Workplace Learning (SWL) one day per week. They are expected to find their own work placement for this purpose. The College can provide assistance with this if required.

The minimum VCE VM requirement is satisfactory completion of 16 units, that must include:

• 3 VCE VM Literacy units or 3 units from other English studies group (including a Unit 3–4 sequence)

• 2 VCE VM Numeracy or other units from the Mathematics studies group

• 2 VCE VM Work Related Skills units

• 2 VCE VM Personal Development Skills units

• 2 VET credits at Certificate II level or above (students may accrue 2 units of credit following the completion of units of competency [UoCs] to the total of 180 nominal hours drawn from multiple VET courses).

For more information about VCE VM eligibility, please visit https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/administration/vce-administrative-handbook/vce

As part of the course counselling process from Year 10 into Year 11, students will be guided to:

• identify areas of interest, in terms of career pathways

  • • • the Year 9 Morrisby Testing profile can provide useful starting points for discussion

• identify tertiary pathways that match the desired career pathway

  • • • this may include university and TAFE pathways

• identify VCE subjects that will be pre-requisites for these tertiary pathways

Useful resources to assist with this process include:

Compass Career News - Matrices Document

This document outlines university degrees offered in 2025, grouped by area of study, and their requirements for entry (pre-requisites, ATAR etc.).

Whilst the requirements for each course will change year to year, it gives a useful starting point for conversation.

VTAC Prerequisite Information

VTAC (Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre) oversee the admission of students to tertiary pathways. This gives general information about prerequisites.

VET Prerequisites - 2027

This provides a comprehensive list of all tertiary pathways to be offered in 2027 and their prerequisites. This is suitable for students studying Year 11 in 2025. 

An updated list for 2028 will be provided here when available. This will be suitable for students studying Year 11 in 2026.

Please also check the Resources menu in the Senior School Handbook.

Students will need to select their desired subjects in preference order, including reserves. Subject selections will be entered via the Web Preferences portal (new for 2025 into 2026). Instructions for how to use Web Preferences will be emailed to students and families, and shared as part of the Senior School Handbook.

The majority of students will be continuing with their identified pathways from Year 11 into Year 12.

Whilst all students are able to access course counselling meetings, specific attention will be given to:

• students who are completing a Unit 3 and 4 sequence in Year 11, to help determine what they will study in Year 12

• students who are unsure about tertiary pathways and pre-requisites

• students who wish to continue, change or begin studying a VET course

• students who wish to enrol in an enhancement subject such as CHES, or a subject offered outside Glen Eira College through VSV or VSL

• students who are experiencing significant difficulty in their current course of study

Students will be asked to complete a 'pre screening' Google Form in late Term 2 to help identify these students, who will then receive specific course counselling from our Senior School and Careers teams.

Students will then be able to select their Year 12 subjects in Term 3, entering these via the Web Preferences portal (new for 2025 into 2026). Instructions for how to use Web Preferences will be emailed to students and families, and shared as part of the Senior School Handbook.

Vocational Education and Training (VET) refers to senior school studies, which enable a secondary student to combine their VCE or VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM) studies with vocational training.

VET is usually a two-year program combining general VCE / VCE VM studies with accredited vocational education and training.

It enables students to complete a nationally recognised vocational qualification (e.g., Certificate II in Community Services) and VCE or VCE VM at the same time. It provides the opportunity to trial a career and helps students explore possible areas of interest which will lead to further study and better work choices.

A VET in Schools program is usually made up of VCE VET units that are delivered at the student’s school, another school within the Bayside, Glen Eira, Kingston, LLEN or Inner Eastern LLEN VET Cluster, or at TAFE.

For more information please speak with our Careers Co-ordinator, Mr Chris Kotsonis, or check our VET Handbook

VCE Enhancement

Year 11 students who have already studied a Unit 1 and 2 subject in Year 10 can continue studying this subject as a Unit 3 and 4 in Year 11 (with the exception of Specialist Mathematics).

Year 11 students who have not studied a Unit 1 and 2 subject in Year 10, but would like to apply for a Unit 3 and 4 subject in Year 11, should speak with the Senior School Leader regarding this.

For more information on how the ATAR is calculated, visit our Resources Page

CHES

The Centre for Higher Education Studies (CHES) is an educational centre of excellence, designed to provide senior secondary students from across Victoria with opportunities to stretch, challenge and accelerate their studies.

Aspirational and high-achieving students at Glen Eira College are strongly encouraged to consider applying to study a subject through CHES. Students remain enrolled at Glen Eira College whilst accessing different types of subjects through CHES. Students predominantly participate in subjects through CHES online.

Subjects offered through CHES include:

VCE Subjects

• CHES offers opportunities for high-achieving students to study VCE subjects that may not necessarily be offered at Glen Eira College, including Algorithmics, English Language and Extended Investigation

• These can be studied in conjunction with a Year 11 or Year 12 VCE course at Glen Eira College

• These will contribute to your VCE qualification as well as your ATAR

VCE subjects are ideal for high-achieving 2025 Year 10 or 11 students who would like to access a broader range of subject choices, particularly subjects aimed at enriching and challenging students.

Further Information

There is a wealth of further information on the CHES website: https://ches.vic.edu.au/, including recordings of previous information sessions, fact sheets about the subjects offered, and much more.

Students and families are also welcome to contact Jeff Micallef, Leader of Senior School, or Mark Oudshoorn, Assistant Principal, with any questions.

Virtual School Victoria

Virtual School Victoria (VSV) gives GEC students an opportunity to complete subjects that are either not offered at GEC, or not available due to timetable clashes.

Interested students and families are invited to read further: https://www.vsv.vic.edu.au/enrolment/students-in-other-schools/

Please note that the online application for VSV must be completed and submitted by GEC, not by the student or parent.

Victorian School of Languages (VSL)

The Victorian School of Languages (VSL) is a government school dedicated to providing language programs for students in Foundation to 12.

Students at GEC who wish to study a language ot anese, or Hebrew, are welcomed to discuss this with Jeff Micallef, Leader of Senior School.

These sample courses have been provided to help students and families see the link between what can be studied at Glen Eira College and post-Year 12 pathways. They are not intended to be prescriptive.