YEARS 11 AND 12 ACADEMIC INFORMATION HANDBOOK

AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT

Beazley Medal

Two peak awards are granted, one recognising outstanding academic achievement (Beazley Medal: WACE) and another recognising outstanding achievement in vocational education and training (Beazley Medal: VET).

 

Beazley Medal WACE is awarded for excellence to the eligible student who achieves the top WACE award score which is used to rank students for General Exhibitions. The WACE award score is based on the average of five scaled examination scores in ATAR courses, calculated to two decimal places, with at least two from each of List A and List B. Where an examination includes both theoretical and practical components an appropriate statistical process will be used to combine the examination marks.

 

Beazley Medal VET is awarded for excellence in studies that include training qualifications and School Curriculum and Standards Authority courses. It is awarded to the eligible student who has demonstrated the most outstanding performance in a VET Certificate II or higher and in their other WACE achievements.

 

Eligibility criteria

Students eligible for this award will have:

  • completed a nationally recognised VET qualification to a minimum of AQF level 2, achieved a VET exhibition (see sub-section 9.5.1) in one of the industry areas.

General Exhibitions

Forty awards, known as General Exhibitions, are awarded to eligible students who obtain the highest WACE award scores based on the average of five un-truncated scaled scores, with at least two from List A and two from List B. 

Course Exhibitions

A Course Exhibition is awarded to the eligible student obtaining the highest combined mark for each WACE course. To be eligible for a Course Exhibition, the student must have completed at least two course units in the year of the award being granted.

Certificates of Excellence

Certificates of Excellence are awarded to eligible candidates who are in the top 0.5 per cent of candidates in each ATAR course examination, based on the examination mark, or the top two candidates (whichever is the greater) in a course where at least 100 candidates sit the ATAR course examination. The number of Certificates of Excellence issued for each course is based on the number of candidates who sit the ATAR course examination. Where a course includes both written and practical components the examination mark will be determined using an appropriate statistical process to combine the two examination marks. To be eligible for a Certificate of excellence, the student must have completed the pair of Year 12 units in the course in the year of the award and have not previously sat the WACE examination for that course.

Certificates of Merit and Certificates of Distinction

Certificates of Merit and Distinction recognise student achievement in the WACE and are dependent on the degree of difficulty of the courses and programs undertaken, together with the student’s level of achievement. These awards will be based solely on the grades awarded to students by their schools. A Certificate of Merit or a Certificate of Distinction is to be awarded to each eligible student who, in their last three consecutive years of senior secondary school WACE enrolment, obtains: Certificates of Merit 150–189 points; Certificates of Distinction 190–200 points, with an ‘A’ grade in an ATAR course worth 10 points and a ‘B’ grade worth 9 points. An ‘A’ grade for a General course is worth 8 points.