Director of Learning and Teaching 

Students in Year 10 and Year 11 should now have received information about their subjects for 2026. If you have not received any information about your subjects, please contact me as soon as possible.

Students in Year 7 to Year 9 will receive information about their subjects early next week. If you have not received this by Friday 7 November, please contact either myself or Wendy Henderson.

For those students undertaking a Unit 1 – 4 subject in 2026, the Early Booklist will be released this week as well as information about Edrolo. This year we have expanded the Early Booklist to include a wider range of subjects and I would strongly recommend that students take this opportunity to order these resources so that they can arrive in good time for the beginning of our Step-Up program.  

Our Step-Up Program, running in Weeks 9–10 (2–11 December), provides an exciting introduction to each student’s new subjects. During this time, students will meet their teachers and class groups and begin to engage with course content. Step-Up is a vital part of our academic program, designed to set students up for success from the very first day of the new school year. We ask families to please support full attendance during this period.

Preparing for exams

Year 7-11 students are now beginning to revise and prepare for their End-of-Year Student Examinations. 

Ahead of Examination Week, subject teachers have incorporated exam revision of the subject material, as well as instruction on how to study for and complete the exam. We acknowledge that this can be a stressful time for some students, who may feel anxious about these assessments. Sitting examinations provides a learning opportunity in itself about how to manage these situations, and I would encourage you to discuss the learning gained from this experience, as well as the actual examination results. 

Examinations are scheduled over five days, with the Year 11 Exams beginning on Monday, 24 November, and the Year 7–10 Exams beginning the following day, Tuesday, 25 November. Year 11 students can study from home from during exam week with parental consent when they are not sitting an examination. All other students will be either timetabled to attend supervised independent study, a regular class, or a PE session. 

It is an expectation that students attend during exam week and sit all scheduled exams. In the case of illness during this time, we do our best to accommodate students and reschedule these exams. If you are aware of a clash with the dates listed above, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss arrangements. All missed exam cases are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and rescheduled where possible. To ensure the academic integrity of exams, we do not allow students to sit an exam before the officially scheduled time or at another venue.

Examinations provide students with the opportunity to showcase their learning and knowledge in each subject area. Examination results provide the student, parent, and teacher with information that reflects the student's progress.  

If you have any queries about the End-of-Year Student Examinations, or another matter, please feel free to contact me arobertson@hamiltoncollege.vic.edu.au