Assistant Principal News - Curriculum

Year 10 Subject Selections – our Year 12 2027….

In 2016, Professor George Conney and Dr John DeCourcy authored a paper entitled “Choosing Wisely, Choosing Well,” designed to provide overarching advice to students and families when considering a pattern of study for the HSC.

Over the course of the last seven years, whilst analysing many HSC results, as well as working with Year 10 students on their chosen pattern of study, the advice provided by DeCourcy and Cooney, as well as the ATAR Report for each year, demonstrate the importance of choosing a pathway that peaks a student’s interest, presents a level of challenge and is grounded in realism. This triangle of considerations remains, even nine years later, as a baseline of good decision-making and guidance.

Teachers play a pivotal role in guiding students in their subject offerings. Teachers are best placed to provide subject-specific knowledge and outline the skills required to study a course. As always, it is also important to ensure the advice you are offering is considered and is not based on a perception of “scaling well.” The advice offered from UAC busts some of the myths around scaling, and it is important to recognise the number of variables related to success within any one subject, in one year, by any individual student. As always, the UAC Preliminary report on the Scaling of the HSC report for each year is a great source of truth about the realities existing for each cohort and contributes to a deeper understanding of this complex process.

Currently, our students are in the process of making selections. This is such an exciting time of year, one filled with hope and possibility for the many young people who are making decisions and finding their exact path. Watching students successfully navigate into the world of work, school-based traineeships and Stage 6 study is a deeply rewarding part of teaching.