Choosing Your

Subjects for the HSC

It is important for parents and students to read through the information in this section regarding the Types of Courses in Stage 6 and NESA Requirements to have a good understanding of the HSC to assist in choosing your subjects.

Types of Courses in Stage 6

NESA Requirements

Choosing a Pattern of Study

What is an ATAR?

Students who wish to receive the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), must study a minimum of 10 Board Developed units in the HSC Course. The booklet, University Entry Requirements 2022 Year 10 Booklet, published by UAC www.uac.edu.au/documents/publications/year10-booklet-15pdf contains important information about entry to university courses, course prerequisites, and other information to assist students’ choice of HSC courses for study in Years 11 and 12 in preparation for university entry. Two Units of English must be counted.

Students who do not wish to receive an ATAR, must study at least six units from Board Developed Courses and the balance of courses may be made up from Board Endorsed Courses.

There is much misinformation and rumour concerning SCALING. It is quite wrong to claim certain subjects are ‘scaled up’ or ‘scaled down’. Scaling is determined by the quality of the candidature sitting for the subject in that year. The only criterion for choosing a subject is that a student is good at a subject and/or enjoys it. If a student is not competent at a subject it is obvious that the student will score badly and not be advantaged in choosing a subject which is a so-called ‘scaled up’ subject.

Students may have only one Category B subject included in your ATAR. The Category B courses at Marian Catholic College are VET courses (but only if you choose to sit for the HSC exam). Remember that some courses cannot be counted at all, for example, Religion (Catholic Studies), Work Studies, and Content Endorsed Courses.

Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) website: www.uac.edu.au

Prerequisites

The University of Sydney has decided to only allow students who have achieved at least a Band 4 in HSC Mathematics to be potentially eligible for several their programs. These undergraduate programs have material with a quantitative element. The changes apply to admissions from 2019. In due course, it may be that other NSW Universities adopt a similar stance.

Do I need an ATAR?

YES

If you want to study at University in 2023

NO

If you know you want to study at TAFE or enter the workforce

RoSA

RoSA stands for Record of School Achievement. From 2012, eligible students who leave school prior to receiving their Higher School Certificate will receive the NSW Record of School Achievement (RoSA).

Some of the key elements of the RoSA are:

It is cumulative, showing a student’s achievement until the time they leave school. If a student chooses to leave school at the completion of Year 11, they will be able to receive their RoSA with grades for both Year 10 and Year 11.
It is comparable between students across NSW.
It offers a means of recording extra-curricular achievements.

A student who completes the HSC studies, will only receive certification for Years 11 and 12. Year 10 results will only be available on request from NESA.

Examples of Patterns of Study (ATAR)

Science/Mathematics Minded Students

English Standard (Category A)

Studies of Religion 1 unit (Category A)

Mathematics Advanced (Category A)

Mathematics Extension 1 (Category A)

Physics (Category A)

Chemistry (Category A)

Economics (Category A)

Examples of Patterns of Study (ATAR)

Humanities Based

English Advanced (Category A)

Studies of Religion 2 (Category A)

Legal Studies (Category A)

Modern History (Category A)

Mathematics Standard 2 (Category A)

Business Studies (Category A)

Examples of Patterns of Study (ATAR)

Creative Minded Students

English Advanced (Category A)

Studies of Religion 1 unit (Category A)

Drama (Category A)

Visual Arts (Category A)

Photography and Digital Media (non ATAR)

VET Hospitality (Category B)

VET Business Services (Category B)

Examples of Patterns of Study (non-ATAR)

Example 1

English Studies (Category B)

Mathematics Standard 1 (Category B)

VET Hospitality (Category B)

CAFS (Category A)

Studies in Catholic Thought (non ATAR)

Work Studies (non ATAR)

Ceramics (non ATAR)

Examples of Patterns of Study (non-ATAR and No HSC Examinations)

Example 2

English Studies (Category B)

Mathematics Standard 1 (Category B)

VET Construction (Category B)

VET Business Services (Category B)

Studies in Catholic Thought (non ATAR)

Work Studies (non ATAR)

Sports, Leisure and Recreation

Important Points to Note

Religious Education

At Marian Catholic College, Stage 6 students are required to undertake the study of one Religious Education course. Students must choose ONE of Studies of Religion I, Studies of Religion II or Studies in Catholic Thought. Studies in Catholic Thought is a one-unit non-ATAR courses.

English is Compulsory:

The English courses are Advanced English, English Standard and English Studies.

Student considering choosing the English Studies course should be advised that:

Students choosing not to sit for the English Studies HSC examination will still be eligible for the HSC if they have satisfactorily completed courses that comprise the pattern of study required by NESA.
To be eligible for an ATAR, students undertaking the English Studies course must complete the optional HSC examination and include a further 8 units of Category A courses in their pattern of study.

Science

Only 6 units of Science may be completed in Year 11 and 7 units in Year 12 and these units can be counted towards an ATAR.

Mathematics

The Mathematics Standard Year 11 course is a common course for all students studying the Mathematics Standard syllabus. In Year 12 students can elect to study either the Mathematics Standard 1 Year 12 course (Category B) or the Mathematics Standard 2 Year 12 course (Category A).

Students studying the Mathematics Standard 1 course may elect to undertake an optional HSC examination.

To be eligible for an ATAR, students studying the Mathematics Standard 1 course must undertake a pattern of study to satisfy the ATAR requirements and complete the optional HSC examination. For the purposes of calculating the ATAR, no more than 2 units from Category B courses can be included.

Life Skills Courses

Life Skills Courses are designed for a small percentage of students with special education needs. Life Skills Courses:

have Board Developed Course status
contribute to the attainment of the HSC
do not have HSC examinations and so do not contribute to the calculation of an ATAR

Other Subject Information

Some subjects, for example, Visual Arts, Drama, Design and Technology, Dance, Agriculture and Software Design and Development, include a requirement for the development of project work for either internal or external assessment. Projects developed for assessment in one subject are not to be used either in full or in part for assessment in any other subject.
Students may not study both Industrial Technology (Timber and Furniture Production) and Industrial Technology (Multimedia).
Students studying Industrial Technology (Metal and Engineering Industries) are not permitted to study courses relating to the Metal and Engineering Industry Framework.
Students studying Industrial Technology (Electronics Industries) are not permitted to study TAFE delivered Electronics Technology 2 Unit.
There is only one History Extension Course. It may be studied with either the Ancient History Course or the Modern History Course but not both. It is an HSC course only.
English Extension 2 and Mathematics Extension 2 are only offered in the HSC Year (Year 12).

Additional information about courses and eligibility are available on NESA Website: Advice for students choosing HSC courses

When Choosing Subjects why is preferential order important?

It is very important that all students choose their subjects in order of preference.
the subject lines change for each year cohort. Each cohort is different, subjects on offer change.
if students do not get their subject preference, it could be because not enough students have nominated that subject, or it is timetabled on the same line as a preferred choice.
Students will be allocated subjects based on their order of preferences.
Parents will receive an email in Term 3 informing them if their child cannot be placed in one of their preferred subjects.

Subjects Offered for 2023

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