Warners Bay High SchoolCareers Faculty

Year 10 Term 2 CareersHSC subject selection

Information lesson

SCHOOL TO WORK PATHWAYS

Year 10

Workforce /TAFE ROSA Yr 12 (28 hrs /week) (Record of School Achievement)

Workforce TAFE University

Workforce

HSC STRANDS

ACADEMICUniversity Bound (ATAR)

MIXEDGeneral Education (OPTIONS OPEN)

VOCATIONALEmployment skills (NON ATAR)

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS WHEN CHOOSING SUBJECTS

UNITS of studyFor your Year 11 subject selections you will need

to choose at least “12 Units” worth of subjects• A “unit” is equivalent to 3 periods /week at

WBHS and is worth a mark of 50 in the HSC• Most subjects at WBHS are 2 Unit subjectseg. 2 Unit Standard English is 6 periods/week and has

an HSC mark out of 100

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS WHEN CHOOSING SUBJECTS

UNITS of study contd.

• However, a subject like Mathematics Ext 1 is equivalent to 3 periods /week at WBHS and is worth a mark of 50 in the HSCSo if you studied 2 unit Mathematics and also Ext 1 Mathematics, you would be studying 9 periods of Maths and have 2 exams: one out of 100 and 1 out of 50

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS WHEN CHOOSING SUBJECTS

UNITS of study contd.

Most of you will therefore probably choose 6 subjects for your Yr 11 Pattern of study.

(Unless you choose to go Pathways or are studying one 1 Unit subject).

In year 12, you only need 10 Units, so you may want to drop a subject at the end of Year 11. If you want an ATAR you need to be careful of what subject you drop!

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS WHEN CHOOSING SUBJECTS

BOARD DEVELOPED COURSEA Board Developed Course is one that is

written by the Board of Studies.It will have an HSC Exam, and also count

towards the ATARBoard Developed courses are either:

Category A or Category B

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS WHEN CHOOSING SUBJECTS

BOARD DEVELOPED COURSES

Category A courses are deemed to be academic courses like:Advanced/ Standard English

General Mathematics/ MathematicsPhysics/Chemistry/Biology

Modern History /Ancient HistorySociety and Culture/ Economics/ Geography

CAFS / Food Technology/ Design and TechnologyPD/H/PE Visual Arts /Drama

etc

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS WHEN CHOOSING SUBJECTS

BOARD DEVELOPED COURSES

Category B courses are deemed to be VET (Vocational Education and Training) Framework courses but worthy of academic HSC exam status. They have a mixture of competencies

and also an Exam. VET courses also give an ASQA accredited certificate as well as counting for HSC

eg:Hospitality (WBHS)

Retail Services (WBHS or TAFE)Business Services (TAFE)

Construction (TAFE)Metals and Engineering (TAFE)

etcOnly 1 Category B subject can be counted in the ATAR

(Board Developed “Category B” subjects are clearly labelled in the subject book)

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS WHEN CHOOSING SUBJECTS

BOARD ENDORSED COURSES

Board Endorsed Courses count towards the HSC, but do not have an Exam. They

DO NOT count towards university entrance (ATAR).

IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS WHEN CHOOSING SUBJECTS

BOARD ENDORSED COURSES contd

Board Endorsed Courses are comprised of Content Endorsed courses like

English Studies/Work Studies/ Ceramics/SLRor

TVET (TAFE delivered VET )courses :Children’s services, Animal Care, Music Industry

(Board Endorsed subjects are clearly labelled in the subject book)

RULES FOR THE PRELIMINARY HSC (YR 11)

Students must:• Choose at least 12 Units of study• Must have English as a subject • Need to have at least 3 Board DEVELOPED Subjects (no more than 3 from same KLA)• Subjects must be from at least 3 different KLAs• Language students need to meet certain requirement s• Science rules with Senior Science combination with other science subjects and no more than 3

science subjects (6 units of Science)

• Year 12 can reduce to 10 Units of study, but you must be careful of what you drop if you want an ATAR for Uni entry

ATAR

• The ATAR is the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank• It is developed by UAC (The University Admission Centre) from Data from

the Board of Studies.• It is a ranking – NOT a mark • Students must have undertaken HSC exams in 10 Board Developed Units

studied (Only 2 units of Category B can count to the ATAR)• It is the average of the ATAR rankings in each Board Developed Course

studied• Standard English or Advanced English must be counted (English Studies does

NOT count towards the ATAR)• The ATAR rank for a subject is not necessarily linked to the HSC exam mark

HSC Marks v ATAR

Performance versus PositionFred and Laura

Band 4 - HSC marks between 70 and 79

Average HSC mark – large percentage of students in the category

HSC ACADEMIC STRAND Need to meet both HSC and University Admission Centre requirements:

• At least 10 units of study need to be “Board Developed” courses that count towards the ATAR

• Advanced English or Standard English must be chosen• Only allowed one Category “B” course

HSC MIXED STRAND Meets HSC requirements, but not an ATAR. Allows for a wider combination

of Board developed courses and Board endorsed courses for HSC, but not ATAR.

• At least 6 units of study need to be “Board Developed” courses. • Can be more than one Category “B” course can be chosen• Allows for more than one Board Developed course to be selected.

HSC VOCATIONAL STRAND Meets ROSA/HSC requirements, but not an ATAR. Program of study is designed to maximise vocational skills for students who are most likely

looking to become an SBAT (School Based Apprentice or Trainee), or hoping to move into the workforce before completion of the HSC.

Pattern of study is more structured:• At least 6 units of study need to be “Board Developed” courses. • Students expected to select “English Studies” course• Students expected to choose 4 units of Category “B” or TVET subjects • Students expected to select “Work Studies” course• Allows for more than one Board Developed course to be selected.• If student becomes an SBAT, they are expected to also study Industry

Based Learning, and also be prepared to undertake paid workplacement one day per week that may require some “catchup” of missed work

SUBJECT SELECTION HINTS

• Choose subjects you like or are good at• Don’t just choose a subject because your friends are

choosing it – you may live to regret it! You have to choose what is right for you and your career ambitions!

• Research the educational requirements for the career you’re interested in (Job Guide, UAC guide etc)

• Don’t be scared to get advice from your Career Advisers, Teachers, Parents and community members

• Attend the Newcastle Careers Expo excursion and the WBHS Subject Selection night

Subject Selection Night

• Tuesday, 2nd June