School Leaving Age
As from 1st January 2010 it has been compulsory,
by NSW law, that all students complete Yr 10 and until
the age of 17…
• Remain at school or be registered for home schooling
OR
• Enrol in a Cert 2 TAFE course or higher
OR
• Undertake approved vocational training eg cadetship
OR
• Employed full time ie 26 hours a week.
OR
• Engage in a combination of work, educations and/or
training.
Some food for thought!!!
• Today’s school leavers can have up to
6 different careers in their working lifetime …
and many more job changes.
• It is predicted that 80% of primary school
students will enter careers that don’t exist yet
involving technology that is not yet invented.
• The commencing age for apprentices is
moving from 15-16 years of age to 17-18
years of age.
Some important terms.
• ATAR:
Australian Tertiary Admission Rank
which is calculated by UAC (University
Admission Centre).
• BOS
Board of Studies: develops the
course content and oversees the
examinations and issuing of the Higher
School Certificate (HSC) or Record of
Student Achievement (RoSA)
Studying for the HSC
• All courses have a unit value
• Most courses are 2 units in value
• 2 units = four hours per week
= 100 marks
• Most courses are studied over two years
o Preliminary Courses – Year 11
o HSC Courses – Year 12
Board Developed Courses
• Have HSC exams (except for Life Skills)
• May contribute to the ATAR (Australian
Tertiary Admission Rank)
• Include some VET courses
• Includes Life Skills courses
Board Endorsed Courses includes
Content Endorsed Courses
•
•
•
•
No HSC exams – schools assessment used
Count towards the HSC
Cannot contribute to the ATAR
Includes some VET courses
VET Curriculum Frameworks
are:
• Board Developed Courses
• based on National Training Packages
• provide dual accreditation
VET qualifications
HSC unit credit
• access to ATAR pathway
optional exam & assessment requirements
• have a mandatory work placement
requirement
70 hours over the 240-hour/2-year course
TAFE Courses
• Mrs Martin (careers advisor) will talk
more about TAFE options a little later.
• Students may elect to do ONE TAFE
course as part of the six subjects they
choose.
• Whether a TAFE course runs or not is at
the discretion of TAFE.
Requirements for the HSC
• Preliminary Course
Minimum of 12 units
• HSC Course
Minimum of 10 units
Students must satisfactorily complete the
Preliminary course before they are eligible
to commence the corresponding HSC
course.
Requirements for the HSC
Both the Preliminary and HSC Courses
must include:
• At least 6 units of Board Developed Courses,
including at least 2 units of English (For the
purpose of the HSC, CEC English Studies is
included here.)
• At least 3 courses of 2 units value or greater
• At least 4 subjects (including English)
• At most, 6 units of courses in Science can
count towards HSC eligibility
English Choices
• English Advanced
• Preliminary Extension English
• HSC Extension 1
• HSC Extension 2
• English Standard
• English as a Second Language (ESL)
(strict entry conditions apply)
• English Studies – Content Endorsed
Course (non-ATAR)
Mathematics Choices
• 2 Unit Mathematics
• Preliminary Mathematics Extension 1
• HSC Mathematics Extension 1
• HSC Mathematics Extension 2
• Preliminary General Mathematics
HSC
General Maths 2
General Maths 1 (non-ATAR)
Extension Courses
• Preliminary
Extension Courses:
• English Ext 1
• Mathematics Ext 1
• HSC
Extension Courses:
• English 1 and 2
• Mathematics 1 and 2
• History
• Music
Satisfactory Completion of
a Course
Students must:
• follow the course developed or endorsed by
the Board
• apply themselves with diligence and
sustained effort
• achieve some or all of the course outcomes
• complete work placement for VET courses
• make a genuine attempt at assessment tasks
that total more than 50% of the available
school assessment marks for that course.
The HSC and the ATAR
HSC
• is for all students
• reports student
achievement in terms
of a standard
achieved in individual
courses
• presents a profile of
student achievement
across a broad range
of subjects
ATAR
• is for students wishing
to gain a place at a
university
• is a rank NOT a mark
• provides information
about how students
perform overall in
relation to other
students
• provides the
discrimination required
by universities for the
selection process
The ATAR
To be eligible for an ATAR, a student must:
• Complete at least 10 units of Board Developed
courses, including
• 2 units of English (CEC English Studies cannot
count towards an ATAR)
• 3 courses of 2 units or greater
• At least 4 subjects
The ATAR will be based on an aggregate of
scaled marks in 10 units
• The best 2 units of English
• The best 8 units from the remaining subjects – with
only 2 units from Category B subjects to be included.
Calculating the ATAR
Raw
Exam
Board of Studies
+
Moderated
Assessment Marks
Universities Admissions Centre
The scaled mark
for each course is
based on the quality
of the candidates in that
course in that year
Scaled
2 units of English +
next best 8 units
ATAR
What are the right reasons
for choosing a subject?
• You enjoy and are interested in the
subject.
• You are good at it.
• You want to learn more about the subject.
• You might need it for a future career path.
What are the wrong
reasons for choosing
a subject?
• Your friends are choosing it, although
you have little or no interest in it.
• You think your favourite teacher will be
teaching it [or not teaching it].
• Relying on one person’s advice.
• You think it is essential for a future
career.
Subject Fees
• Please be aware that subjects with a
practical component have a fee to cover the
cost of materials which the school purchases
on your child’s behalf. Some additional
material may need to be purchased. The
practical projects belong to the students once
they have been marked. The fees for these
subjects are in the subject booklet.
• A small number of other subjects also have a
small fee to cover additional resources and
course material that cannot be covered by the
school’s global budget. These fees are also
included in the subject booklet.
Practical Considerations
• Syllabus requirements
• Exam expectations
• Practical/Major work components
• Subject combinations
Who can help me?
• Your parents
• Mrs Martin - the school’s Careers
Advisor
• Other teachers – particularly Head
Teachers.
• Year Adviser
• Yr 10 Mentor
How to submit your choices
• Subject selections through “Web Choice”
are due by Friday 8th August. You have
until 11pm to change your choices.
• These will be used to determine the line
structure for the timetable.
• Extension subjects such as Mathematics
and English will be off line.
• You will need your teacher’s
recommendation to do certain subjects,
particularly Extension courses .
How to submit your choices.
1) Tomorrow (Tuesday 29 July) you will
receive a piece of paper with
instructions and your individual
“webcode”.
2) Click on http://web.edval.com.au – this
is a direct link to the webpage.
3) Type in your “webcode”. Each
webcode is individual and linked to one
student only.
How to submit your choices
1) Select the subjects you wish to do
via
the drop down menus.
2) 6 subjects* (including TAFE) plus 3 reserves.
3) Submit
4) Print your form.
5) Get your parents to sign the form and hand to
Mrs Strohfeldt.
6) Get the form signed by the HT of Maths or
English if you have chosen Advanced
English, 2 Unit Maths or an Extension course.
* or more if you are doing extension courses.
HSC: All My Own Work:
• is a program designed to help HSC students
follow the principles and practices of good
scholarship
• includes understanding and valuing of ethical
practices when locating and using information as
part of HSC studies.
Students MUST complete and pass HSC: All
My Own Work before they can be entered
for any Preliminary or HSC course.
This will be done with all Yr 10 students at the
end of Term 4.
The RoSA
In February 2012 the Education Minister announced
that a new certificate, called the Record of Student
Achievement (RoSA), will:
•
Be a record of the full range of student achievements
right up to the day they do their HSC or leave school
•
Provide an electronic record of achievements that
students can use at any time
•
Use assessment by teachers in schools, moderated by
the Board of Studies
•
Offer on-line literacy and numeracy tests, with
particular emphasis on work readiness, that students
will be able to undertake twice a year.
continued
• Provide the capacity to record vocational courses and
students’ vocational experiences as well as citizenship
and leadership achievements.
Mr Piccoli said,
The formal RoSA credential will be awarded to eligible
students who choose to leave school prior to receiving
their HSC, while still allowing students to view and
download a transcript of their achievements when
applying for jobs or further education or training.
The new credential will:
• Provide an ongoing, cumulative record for students
It will record grades for courses students complete
in Year 10 (and in Year 11)
• Report results of moderated, school-based
assessment
• Introduce optional, online literacy and numeracy
testing for students who leave before completing the
HSC.
• Provide the opportunity for students to incorporate
extra-curricular achievements.
Who will get a RoSA?
• Students entering Year 10 in 2012 will be eligible for
the new credential when they have completed Stage 5
• Students will need to have completed the mandatory
requirements for Stage 5 (Yr 10) to eligible for a
RoSA.
• It will only be issued to students when they leave
school prior to completing the HSC.
Other Important Dates
Monday 8th December 2014
Yr 10 School Formal
Wednesday 10th December 2012
School Sports Presentation Assembly
Friday 12th December 2012
School Presentation Day
Wednesday 17th December 2012
Last day of year.
For more information:
NSW Board of Studies
WEBSITE
www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au
Universities Admission Centre
http://www.uac.edu.au/