Welcome to the senior years of study. This website is a resource for students and their parents/guardians and is designed to assist students and parents to understand the structure of our Senior Years Program at Kyneton High School.  It has been compiled to enable students to make informed choices when selecting a course of subjects that supports their career aspirations and associated pathways.

Our Senior Years curriculum is designed to allow students:

• Breadth and depth of study: The flexibility of our Senior Program encourages all students to take a variety of studies, while providing them with the ability to specialise in a particular area. Students should carefully choose subjects to prepare them for a range of possible career options and should not choose subjects that may overly restrict their career choices.

• Pursue interests and develop talents: It is advised students choose subjects they enjoy as they often perform better in these subjects. Beware of choosing subjects based on the impact of scaling in calculating the ATAR. Choosing subjects purely because they are ‘scaled up’ is not recommended, and it may actually disadvantage students when they choose studies they are not strong in. 

A course information evening for Year 10s going into Year 11 and their parents/carers will be held at school on Monday 27 July. There will also be a recorded version of the information made available on this site after the information evening. 

Year 10 students will then attend their one-on-one course counselling interview with experienced Careers Advisors, to be held at school in Weeks 3 & 4 of Term 3.   The caring and personalised support provided by our staff will ensure that our students reach their potential in their senior years and is a unique characteristic of our school, based on positive, respectful relationships.   

For those families who are unable to attend the 2027 Year 10 into 11 Course Information Session, the Presentation will be available below.  

Once students have carefully checked this website and received their one-on-one course counselling with a Careers Advisor, will then need to log into the EDVAL SUBJECT CHOICE website to choose their subjects.  Students will need their web code which will be provided by Careers Advisors during course counselling week to log into the Edval System. 

Parent/carers will be notified of their student's final subject selection choices and asked to sign an approval form when the course counselling process is completed.

Students will be enrolled in either the VCE Program or VCE Vocational Major Program.   The VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM) is a two-year program which sits within the VCE and replaces VCAL. It will prepare students to move into apprenticeships, traineeships, further education and training, university (through non-ATAR pathways) or directly into the workforce.

Students wishing to enrol in external VET programs are strongly encouraged to consider a Vocational Major enrolment - this will be discussed in your Course Counselling appointment. 

In the VCE Program, students enrol in a compulsory English subject and then select a program of study from a wide variety of other subjects that we offer. A comprehensive list of these subjects can be found by clicking on the left-hand menu links. At Kyneton High School we pride ourselves on maintaining a diverse senior curriculum from year to year, ensuring that students can enrol in university pre-requisite subjects such as Chemistry and folio subjects such as Art: Creative Practice. We also support students to widen their choice of learning program by facilitating enrolment in Distance Education. 

Eligibility 

In order to be awarded their VCE a student needs to satisfactorily complete at least 16 units including:

•  At least three units from the English Group (English or Literature), two of which must be a Unit 3-4 sequence.

•  An additional three Unit 3-4 sequences of studies.  This includes VCE VET Unit 3-4 sequences.

Calculation of the ATAR

The ATAR ranking is developed from an aggregate produced by adding the results for up to six studies as follows: -

• The scaled study score in one of English or Literature.

• The next best three scaled study scores permissible (which together with the English study make the “primary four”)

• 10% of any fifth and/or sixth permissible scores that are available (these are called increments).

If the student has more than six results, the six permissible results that give the highest ATAR are used. Further information regarding assessment can be located at www.vtac.edu.au.

You can see the list of subjects on offer in the next section, or by navigating using the menu on the left hand side of this site.

The VCE Vocational Major (VCE-VM) is a vocational and applied learning program which sits within the VCE, and is designed to be completed over a minimum of two years. The VCE VM replaces the VCAL Program and will give students greater choice and flexibility to pursue their strengths and interests and develop the skills and capabilities needed to succeed in further education, work and life. It prepares students to move into apprenticeships, traineeships, further education and training, university (via non-ATAR pathways) or directly into the workforce.

The purpose of the VCE VM is to provide students with the best opportunity to achieve their personal goals and aspirations in a rapidly changing world by:

• equipping them with the skills, knowledge, values and capabilities to be active and informed citizens, lifelong learners and confident and creative individuals; and

• empowering them to make informed decisions about the next stages of their lives through real life workplace experiences.

The VCE VM course is structured for students as follows:

• Four core VCE VM subjects – Literacy, Numeracy, Work Related Skills and Personal Development Skills.

• One VET subject to be selected from the range available – Construction Pathways, Cookery and Health Services Assistance.  Other VET subjects are available outside of school. 

• In some instances, where the timetable allows, students are able to complete VCE subjects as part of the VCE-VM Program

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive the VCE VM Certificate, students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 16 units, including:

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

• 2 VCE VM Numeracy or VCE Mathematics units

• 2 VCE VM Work Related Skills units

• 2 VCE VM Personal Development Skills units, and

• 2 VET credits at Certificate II level or above (180 nominal hours)

• Students MUST complete at least four Unit 3-4 sequences to be eligible for the VCE VM Certificate.

• Students who participate in the VCE VM Program are not awarded an ATAR score. 

Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC)

The Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC) was also introduced in 2023 to replace Foundation VCAL. The VPC is designed to support students to transition either to the VCE Vocational Major or to entry level VET or employment. The VPC is suitable for students whose previous schooling experience may have been disrupted for a variety of reasons, including students with additional needs, students who have missed significant periods of learning and vulnerable students at risk of disengaging from their education. 

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive the VPC, students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 12 units, including:

• at least two units of VPC Literacy (or units from the VCE English group including VCE Vocational Major Literacy)

• at least two units of VPC Numeracy (or units from the VCE Mathematics group including  Numeracy

• at least two VPC Personal Development Skills units

• at least two VPC Work Related Skills units.

VCE VET Programs are designed to reinforce classroom learning with hands on training and practice in industry. A VET program enables Year 10-12 students to complete a nationally recognised vocational qualification whilst completing either their VCE or VCE VM.  VCE VET programs help students become ‘job ready’ with a high standard of general education, broad vocational skills and the ability to take on further study as skill requirements change.

VCE VET programs enable students to obtain direct experience of business and industry. They enable students to explore their interests and build on part-time work experiences. They assist in the development of confidence and self-esteem.   

Kyneton High School currently runs the following VCE VET Programs

• Certificate II Construction Pathways

• Certificate II Cookery

• Certificate III Health Services Assistance

• Other options through Bendigo TAFE/Kangan institute and other providers. 

USI (Unique student identifier)

Students will need to register for a USI in order to be enrolled in any VET course.  This number is then used by the student for any future VET courses, so it is important that the number is kept in a safe place. Information regarding this will be forwarded to families by the VET Teachers. 

Subject information

You can find information about Construction Pathways and Cookery in the 'Technologies' section. You can find information about Health Services Assistance in the 'Health and Physical Education' section.