Choosing your Future
Read the following different Senior Studies pathways carefully.
– Do you wish to prepare for a University course requiring a University Admissions Index (UAI)?
– Do you wish to obtain the HSC?
– Do you wish to follow a ‘Steiner’ based life-skills course, the Shearwater Senior Studies Certificate, and leave your options open?
Shearwater actually provides you with the opportunity to prepare for all the above and meet all the requirements needed for a future career and/or study option. We already do this through a wide number of courses – subject to some modifications each year depending on the interest shown in the various subjects – and, as the number of students attempting the HSC increases, so will the course options. Also, if you would like to attempt to do the following studies over a longer period or combine two options, please feel free to come and discuss this with us.
Choosing your options will have long term implications in your lives, so we suggest you do so carefully and after a full discussion with your designated contact Teacher, Class Guardian and your parents.
We also suggest you read through the “terms explained” section, which should clarify the meaning of all the specifications.
– Do you wish to prepare for a University course requiring a University Admissions Index (UAI)?
– Do you wish to obtain the HSC?
– Do you wish to follow a ‘Steiner’ based life-skills course, the Shearwater Senior Studies Certificate, and leave your options open?
Shearwater actually provides you with the opportunity to prepare for all the above and meet all the requirements needed for a future career and/or study option. We already do this through a wide number of courses – subject to some modifications each year depending on the interest shown in the various subjects – and, as the number of students attempting the HSC increases, so will the course options. Also, if you would like to attempt to do the following studies over a longer period or combine two options, please feel free to come and discuss this with us.
Choosing your options will have long term implications in your lives, so we suggest you do so carefully and after a full discussion with your designated contact Teacher, Class Guardian and your parents.
We also suggest you read through the “terms explained” section, which should clarify the meaning of all the specifications.
Terms and Course types explained
Unit value of a course:
All courses offered for the HSC have a unit value. Subjects are given unit values, which represent the time it should take to achieve all or most of the objectives and outcomes. Most courses are valued at 2 units, representing 4 hours of work per week, or 120 hours per year.
BDC’s
Board Developed Courses are developed by the Board of Studies and follow outlines setting out course objectives, structure, content and outcomes; specific course requirements; assessment requirements; sample exam papers and marking guidelines; performance scales. These courses are examined externally at the end of the HSC course and count towards the calculation of the Universities Admission Index (UAI).
BEC’s
Board Endorsed Courses are of two types – Content Endorsed or School Designed. Neither of these courses has an external examination and count in the calculation of the UAI. However, they count towards the HSC and appear in the Record of Achievement.
School Designed Courses are there to meet student needs and must be approved by the Board of Studies.
CEC’s
Content Endorsed Courses have syllabuses endorsed by the Board of Studies to cater for areas of special interest not covered in Board Developed courses, (Most HSC Vocational Education and Training courses delivered by TAFE are CEC’s).
VET
Vocation Education and Training Courses enable students to study courses relevant to industry needs and which have clear links to ‘post-school destinations’. These courses allow students to gain both HSC qualifications and accreditation with industry and the workplace as part of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). These courses have a specific workplace component and a minimum number of hours spend in the workplace or a simulated workplace at school. They are either delivered by schools, TAFE or other providers.
Life Skills Courses
Life Skills Courses constitute a special program of study, which continues on from courses covered in Years 9 and 10. Life Skills Courses have Board Developed status to meet the requirements for the award of the HSC.
All courses offered for the HSC have a unit value. Subjects are given unit values, which represent the time it should take to achieve all or most of the objectives and outcomes. Most courses are valued at 2 units, representing 4 hours of work per week, or 120 hours per year.
BDC’s
Board Developed Courses are developed by the Board of Studies and follow outlines setting out course objectives, structure, content and outcomes; specific course requirements; assessment requirements; sample exam papers and marking guidelines; performance scales. These courses are examined externally at the end of the HSC course and count towards the calculation of the Universities Admission Index (UAI).
BEC’s
Board Endorsed Courses are of two types – Content Endorsed or School Designed. Neither of these courses has an external examination and count in the calculation of the UAI. However, they count towards the HSC and appear in the Record of Achievement.
School Designed Courses are there to meet student needs and must be approved by the Board of Studies.
CEC’s
Content Endorsed Courses have syllabuses endorsed by the Board of Studies to cater for areas of special interest not covered in Board Developed courses, (Most HSC Vocational Education and Training courses delivered by TAFE are CEC’s).
VET
Vocation Education and Training Courses enable students to study courses relevant to industry needs and which have clear links to ‘post-school destinations’. These courses allow students to gain both HSC qualifications and accreditation with industry and the workplace as part of the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). These courses have a specific workplace component and a minimum number of hours spend in the workplace or a simulated workplace at school. They are either delivered by schools, TAFE or other providers.
Life Skills Courses
Life Skills Courses constitute a special program of study, which continues on from courses covered in Years 9 and 10. Life Skills Courses have Board Developed status to meet the requirements for the award of the HSC.
