VCE Year 12 Exams

Our students and teachers have been working very hard to prepare for the Year 12 examination period which started on Mon 6 October with the Oral Language and Performance exams. All Year 12 students completing the exams for a study score or ATAR will sit the English Exam on Tue 28 October.

It is a very important time for our graduating class, and we wish them the very best as they embark on what will be a memorable and consequential time over coming weeks.

Key Exam Information

The following information will assist students to understand the school-based processes around the exams. There are also links to key supporting documents from the VCAA and I have attached a letter sent to all schools from the VCAA to reassure families of the improvements to exam processes in 2025, to prevent the authentication issues that arose in the 2024 exams.

General Exam Logistics

VCAA exams will take place in:

Senior School - Tue 28 Oct to Thu 13 Nov

REES House - Friday 14 to Wed 19 Nov

Exam Check-in process for all exams:

Year 12s must bring a lock and secure belongings in any free locker. Year 11 students can use their normal lockers.

The following Check-in process is for a Compulsory Equipment and Technology Check, to confirm seat allocations, and to enable students to settle and relax prior to the exams.

Students should arrive at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start of each exam and attend the Exam Check-ins:

English Exam Check-in

Tue 28 Oct, 8:30-8:45am, Byrne House

General Maths Exam Check-ins:

Fri 31 Oct, 1:30 -1:45pm, Byrne House

Mon 3 Nov, 1:30 -1:45pm Byrne House

All Othe Exams Check-ins:

Outside Senior Centre, 30 mins prior to Exam start

Teachers are volunteering their time to support students through the check in process. Exam Seating plans will been posted on Teams and are also posted outside of the Senior Centre and on the pathways noticeboard.

Special Provisions

All students eligible for SPs have received notification of these provisions and will be catered for in their exams in accordance with these provisions.

Students who experience the onset of an illness or the occurrence of an injury closer to the exams should speak to Ms Roper regarding an emergency special provisions application.

Important VCAA Rules – In Brief

Late Admission to Exams

1. If you are late, the school will attempt to contact you and advise you of late processes.

2. You can be admitted into an exam if you arrive within 30 mins of the start of writing time, you’ll be given full writing time but not reading time.

3. If you arrive more than 30 mins after writing time has started you can only be admitted if the school delegate gives the supervisors the OK for you to sit exam, you understand that your exam responses might not be accepted by VCAA, and you provide a stat dec after the exam with details about lateness. You’ll be given full writing time but not reading time.

Students Who Can't Attend Due to Illness

1. If you cannot sit the examination due to being unwell or for personal reasons, contact Ms Roper and Ms Manser (group message on Teams) ASAP.

2. You must get a medical certificate or other appropriate evidence.

3. “Students who are ill or affected by other personal circumstances at the time of a VCE external assessment and whose result is unlikely to be a fair or accurate indication of their learning or achievement in the study may apply for a DES (derived exam score). If their application is approved, a DES will be calculated by the VCAA.”

https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/administration/special-provision/derived-examination-score-des

In the Exams

1. Students must observe all VCAA exam rules and supervisor instructions when sitting the VCE external assessments. Supervisors have the right to check any authorised materials that are taken into an exam.

2. All supervisors are trained to administer the exams and are required to report all alleged breaches of these rules to the VCAA. Students must not cheat or assist other students to cheat, including taking any action that gives or attempts to give them or another student an unfair advantage. Students must provide reasonable assistance to any investigation by the VCAA in relation to a suspected breach of VCAA rules.

3. Students must NOT:

Present for a VCE external assessment in another student’s place.
Present for a VCE external assessment under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Possess mobile phones and electronic devices (eg smart watches) during the exam. Students caught with any device defined in rule 8, upon the direction of a supervisor, must surrender that device for inspection and assist supervisors to examine the device. Any confiscated device may be retained for up to 3 months, pending any investigation into an alleged breach of VCAA rules.
Wear a watch of any type during the exam. They are to be removed and placed on the table.
Bring into the exam any drinks or food, except under special circumstances as approved and directed by the VCAA. Unlabelled clear Bottled water is permitted.
Communicate with any other student while the exam is being conducted.
Cause any nuisance, annoyance or interference to any other student during the exam.
Not remove or tear out any part of a question or answer book or remove any response material, used or unused, from the examination room.
Begin to write or mark your paper or response material or use a calculator in reading time or unless advised to by a supervisor. You can use the dictionary in reading time or bounded resources bought into the exams.
Leave your place unless permitted by a supervisor.
Leave the exams before 30 minutes have elapsed from the start of writing time or in the last 5 mins of the exam.

Students MUST:

Only bring in the materials and equipment approved for that external assessment.
Raise your hand if you wish to communicate with a supervisor.
Cease writing when instructed to do so by a supervisor.
Remain silent and seated at the end of the exam until materials have been checked and collected and an announcement has been made to leave.

Recommendations

Write your responses using blue or black pen (erasable pens are not recommended for use in any examination). While not recommended, pencils may be used provided that they are a dark lead (for example, 2B pencil) and try not to smudge your responses.
multiple-choice answer sheet must be completed in pencil (HB or 2B). An optical scanner that detects pencil marks scans these sheets. If you change your mind about an answer to a multiple-choice question, please ensure that you fully erase your unintended answer.
The use of pencil (HB or 2B) is also recommended for some parts of specific examinations, such as completing calculations, records and reports in accounting and for musical notation in written music examinations.

Links to various Examination Information

All students have been given a Navigator Booklet providing valuable information about the exams This booklet can be found here.

The 2025 examination timetable can be accessed here.

VCAA examination rules can be accessed here.

Further information for each subject, including exam specifications, past exams and external assessment reports can be accessed here.

Authorized VCE Exam Materials can be found here.

Please note letter from the VCAA CEO attached:

We wish all our students undertaking exams, the best of luck.

Natalie Manser

Assistant Principal

mar@wantirnacollege.vic.gov.au

The Student Chronicles