Course Selection: Information

Careers Information and How to Obtain It

Making plans for the next few years will help students to achieve what they want to do. The student who looks ahead, and thinks about what jobs or courses of study will best suit his abilities, interests, and personality, will be happier and more content. Students are encouraged to make sure that they do not limit their interest to one choice! They should try to have several different possibilities in mind, and obtain information about all of them.

Career Resources

My Future

A resource program which has information on all sorts of career related topics e.g. education and training, employment and career development. https://myfuture.edu.au/

Job Outlook

A resource designed to help students make decisions about study, training and your first job. https://joboutlook.gov.au/

Good Universities Guide

A resource providing career, course and scholarship information for students across Australia. https://www.gooduniversitiesguide.com.au/

Course Seeker

A resource providing information on all Universities courses offered within Australia. https://www.courseseeker.edu.au/

Careers/Transition Coordinator

Mr Kernutt is available for support and information relating to careers and transition from school. As part of their education towards independent living, students are encouraged to take responsibility by initiating their own appointments via SEQTA whenever possible.

Your Options

Most students will opt to progress to Years 11 and 12 at Trinity College. In doing so they hope to obtain Secondary Graduation (the Western Australian Certificate of Education – WACE) and qualify for entrance to university, TAFE, an apprenticeship or the workforce. The courses offered at Trinity College in Year 11 and 12 are well suited for students with these aspirations. In determining specific pathways, students should consider the following questions:

1. How do your ambitions match up with those of your parents?
2. Do you intend to apply for entry to a TAFE or a university after leaving school? If so, do you know which course or range of courses suits and interests you? Do you know what the Year 12 prerequisites are for these courses?
3. If the answer to 2 is no, what do you hope to do when you leave school? Which courses would best equip you to meet these goals?

Be Realistic

It is important to realise that the courses required in Years 11 and 12 to maximise entry into TAFE or university vary.

• They vary in content and skills.
• They vary in level of complexity within the various stages.
• The learning styles involved vary and may not suit some students.

Course Selection

A number of factors should be taken into consideration when selecting courses for Years 11 and 12. These include the student’s ability, interests and aspirations. If these correlate well then it should be possible for the student to arrange a programme that is both appropriate and interesting. It is best to make a selection that will keep the career options as open as possible while satisfying the student’s interests and abilities.

The following pathways should be kept in mind when selecting courses for Years 11 and 12.

Typically, university-bound students would study a program of courses at ATAR level (minimum of 4) over their senior secondary years. All ATAR courses can be included in the calculation of the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) for university entry.

It is important that students carefully consider their capacity to undertake studies, especially courses which are academically rigorous such as Chemistry, English Literature, higher level Mathematics and Physics.

Students who may be headed to TAFE and further education such as an apprenticeship would study a program of courses at the General level along with Vocational Education and Training (VET) certificate programs.

Students should select courses on the basis of not only those which interest them, but mainly on the basis of those in which they have the background to achieve success. Experience has taught us that those students who are successful in Years 11 and 12 have normally demonstrated their ability in Years 7-10.

To guide students with their course selection this handbook provides students with the recommended minimum grades or percentage scores in Year 10 deemed to be the minimum standard to achieve satisfactorily in Year 11.

Students may have their grades reviewed during the year and may be given the opportunity to change their course choices. Students opting for the more difficult courses will have to continue achieving high grades throughout Year 10 if they wish to remain enrolled in those courses for Year 11.

Breadth of Study

It is a requirement for Secondary Graduation (completion and achievement of the Western Australian Certificate of Education - WACE) that students must complete in their final year at least one course from each of list A (Arts / Languages / Social Science) and list B (Mathematics / Science / Technology).

Courses Offered

The courses offered at Trinity College are as follows:

It is proposed that the courses listed will be offered if sufficient students enrol in each course.

A student’s final choice may be restricted by:

1. A lack of ability to cope with the proposed subject,
2. Unavoidable clashes in timetabling, or,
3. Resource restrictions.

Timeline for Year 10 to 11

WASSA

The Western Australian Statement of Student Achievement (WASSA) The WASSA is issued to each Year 12 student at the completion of their senior secondary schooling.

Senior secondary school typically takes two years. The WASSA lists all courses and programs that a student has completed and the grades and marks achieved.

The WASSA formally records, as relevant:

• achievement of WACE requirements
• achievement of the literacy (reading and writing) standard
• achievement of the numeracy standard
• achievement of awards
• school grades, school marks and combined scores in ATAR courses
• school grades and school marks in General and Foundation courses
• completed Preliminary units
• completed VET industry specific courses
• successfully completed VET qualifications and VET units of competency
• completed endorsed programs
• number of community service hours undertaken (if reported by the school).

Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) Requirements 

WACE requirements

The Western Australian Certificate of Education signifies that students have met the breadth and depth, achievement standard and the literacy and numeracy standard requirements in their senior secondary schooling.

Breadth and depth requirement

• Complete a minimumof 20 course units or the equivalent. (notes 1, 2 and 3)
• The 20 course units must include at least:
  • 10 units or the equivalent at Year 12
  • Two Year 11 units from an English course and one pair of Year 12 units from an English course
  • one pair of course units from each of List A (arts/languages/social sciences) and List B (mathematics/science/technology) completed in Year 12.

Achievement standard requirement

• Achievement of at least 14 C grades or higher (or the equivalent) in Year 11 and 12 units, with a minimum of six C grades or the equivalent at Year 12. (notes 5 and 6)

Literacy and numeracy standard

• Completion of at least four units of an English course post-Year 10 and studied over at least two years.
• Demonstration of the minimum standard of literacy and numeracy.

Explanatory notes relating to WACE requirements

1. The breadth-and-depth requirement can be met through ATAR, General and Foundation courses. The achievement standard can be met through ATAR, General, VET industry specific and Foundation courses.
2. Of the 20 units required for a WACE, up to a maximum of four Year 11 units and four Year 12 units may be substituted by VET qualifications and/or endorsed programs. A student may choose to substitute using only VET qualifications (up to a total of eight units) or using endorsed programs (up to a total of four units) or using a combination of VET and endorsed programs (up to a total of eight units but with a maximum of four units with endorsed programs).
3. Students can repeat units. However, those units that have the same unit code, e.g. AEENG, and are repeated, do not contribute to the WACE requirements more than once.
4. Students enrolled in Units 3 and 4 in an ATAR course must sit the external examination in that course. If students do not sit, or do not make a genuine attempt in this examination, the grades for the pair of units completed in that year will not contribute to the calculation of the achievement standard, but they will still count in the breadth-and-depth requirement. Students who do not sit the examination will not receive a course report. Year 12 students enrolled in Units 3 and 4 in a General or Foundation course must sit the EST in that course.
5. Both VET qualifications and endorsed programs can indirectly contribute to the WACE standard requirement of a C grade in at least 14 units. A C grade in a maximum of eight units (four in Year 11 and four in Year 12) can be replaced by unit equivalents from VET qualifications and/or endorsed programs. Of these eight unit equivalents, a maximum of four can be from endorsed programs (two in Year 11 and two in Year 12).
6. The literacy and numeracy standard can be met either through the Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA) or by achieving Band 8 or above in the associated components of reading, writing or numeracy in the Year 9 NAPLAN tests. Students undertaking the OLNA will be required to satisfy both the reading and writing components in order to demonstrate the minimum WACE literacy standard.
7. If students do not demonstrate the literacy and numeracy standard by the time they exit secondary school, they can apply to the Authority to re-sit the assessment at any age.

How does my child demonstrate the minimum standard of literacy and numeracy?

Students can meet the minimum standard either by demonstrating Band 8 or higher in the NAPLAN reading, writing and numeracy tests in Year 9 or by meeting the minimum standard of the reading, writing and numeracy components of the Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA).

Course Pre-requisites

Courses which may be used to form the ATAR in Year 12

Courses and VET certification programmes which are not used to form the ATAR in Year 12