There are four different types of courses that you can select in Years 11 and 12.
1. Board Developed Courses (BDC)
NESA develops the syllabus for each of these courses and determines:
The course structure and content
Specific course requirements such as field work, practical work, major works, etc
What parts of the course you should be assessed on and how much they should count
All students who are studying these courses for the HSC in New South Wales follow these syllabuses. They sit for an external examination at the end of the HSC course, and can count the course towards the calculation of their Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR).
2. Board Endorsed Courses (BEC) - eg. Work Studies
All Board Endorsed Courses count towards the Higher School Certificate and appear on the Preliminary and the HSC Records of Achievement, however, there is no external examination for any Board Endorsed Course and they do not count in the calculation of the ATAR. Content Endorsed Courses (CEC’s) have syllabuses endorsed by NESA to cater for areas of special interest not covered in Board Developed Courses. Some HSC Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses delivered by Colleges of TAFE are content endorsed courses.
3. Vocational Education and Training (VET) Courses
VET courses can be either Board Developed or Board Endorsed. Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses are offered as part of the Higher School Certificate. They enable students to study courses that are relevant to industry needs and have clear links to post-school destinations.
VET courses allow students to gain both Higher School Certificate qualifications and industry/workplace accreditation as part of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).
Students receive special documentation showing the competencies they have achieved throughout the course. VET courses each have a workplace component (work placement) that requires students to spend a minimum number of hours in the workplace (or a simulated workplace at school). Some of these courses will be delivered by the school, while others will be delivered by TAFE or other providers.
4. Life Skills Courses
Stage 6 (Years 11 and 12) Life Skills courses are designed for students with diverse learning needs. They will be available for those students who are following a Special Program of Study for the Higher School Certificate. Students undertaking Life Skills would already be doing so in Stage 5, and would be agreed to by the school, parent and student.
What are the NESA requirements to receive an HSC?
You must study an approved combination of courses that meets the pattern of study requirements of the NESA, including a minimum of 12 units in the Preliminary course and a minimum of 10 units in the HSC course.
Both the Preliminary course and the HSC course must follow the following rules:
At least 2 units of a Board Developed Course in English
At least 6 units from Board Developed Courses (this includes English)
At least three courses of 2 unit value or greater
At least four subjects
Additionally, at most 6 units of courses in Science can contribute to the minimum units for the Higher School Certificate
You must satisfactorily complete course requirements for these courses. This includes completing the practical, oral or project works required for specific courses and includes satisfactory attendance to enable course outcomes to be met.
You must complete tasks designed for the internal assessment program in each HSC course of your pattern of study.
You must sit for and make a serious attempt at the Higher School Certificate examination
To receive your HSC, you must also complete the National Minimum Standards Testing and achieve a minimum Level 3 in each of the following tests:
Reading
Writing
Numeracy
How is work in the Higher School Certificate assessed?
An assessment handbook will be distributed in the early weeks of Year 11 and formal assessment tasks will start two weeks after this. Satisfactory completion of the Preliminary course will allow you to commence the HSC course.
For the HSC course assessment, school-based assessment tasks will be undertaken in each course and a final mark /100 determined for each 2 units of study. This final assessment mark in each course will make up 50% of your HSC mark for that course. The other 50% will come from the HSC examination.
Your HSC mark for 2 unit courses will be reported on a scale of 0 to 100. If you achieve the minimum standard expected in a course you will receive a mark of 50. There will be five performance bands above 50 that correspond to different levels of achievement in knowledge, skills and understanding. The band from 90 - 100 will correspond to the highest level of achievement.
How Will My Achievement Be Reported?
The Higher School Certificate reports will provide you with more detailed descriptions of the knowledge, skills and understanding you have attained in each subject.
The HSC report will provide a description of your achievements.
On satisfactory completion of your HSC, you will receive a portfolio containing:
The HSC Testamur - The official certificate confirming your achievement of all requirements for the award.
The Record of Achievement - This document lists the courses you have studied and reports the marks and bands you have achieved.
Course Reports - For every HSC Board Developed Course you will receive a Course Report showing your marks, the Performance Scale and the band descriptions for that course. A graph showing the state-wide distribution of marks in the course will also be shown.
When students are required to submit their subject selections they will be required to preference their selections. This process ensures that MOST students will receive subjects that they want to study and every effort will be made to ensure that students are able to study as many of their choices as possible. No guarantee can be given that students will get all of their choices.
What is a preference?
A preference is based on a number order. The subject that is placed at preference number 1 is the subject that the student wants the MOST.
How do I select preferences?
Once students have identified the subjects that they wish to undertake, they will be required to preference them in order. English and Religious Education subjects do not require a preference allocation.
This order indicates a student’s preference of one subject over another. Not all students will receive their most preferred as the timetable will be constructed and generated on the basis of ‘best fit’ for the most number of students. Preferences selected are an acknowledgement that students may be offered these courses.
What happens if a subject I select is not available?
The availability of subjects is determined by the availability of resources and staff. Some courses will not be offered because of insufficient numbers of students wanting to study that course, the withdrawal of a member of staff or other issues that affect the smooth running of the senior school. In these instances, there may be a distance education pathway to study that course through the School of Now or NSW School of Languages (for students wanting to study a language).
How to pick your subjects
Students at St Luke’s have been “working from the inside out” through Life Design from Year 7 to be more aware of their strengths, interests and motivations. NESA advises that students consider the following factors when selecting subjects:
Abilities - choose subjects where you are capable of doing well.
Interests/Motivation- choose subjects that interest you.
Career aspirations and needs - keep in mind future career paths but be realistic about choices.
Syllabus Requirements – be mindful of how many practical works and major works are required for your pattern of study and the timing of submission.
Subject combinations - do the subjects complement each other?
Other commitments - when choosing subjects, it is important to balance study with outside commitments and influences such as work, sport and family.