Year 12 News

Earlier this month Year 12 students had the pleasure of attending the VCE English seminars. We again have been very fortunate to have had Ross (The Boss) Huggard drop into Horsham College to deliver his inspiring and colourful tutelage in preparation for this year’s English exam. Ross has had extensive experience in teaching VCE English from its inception, and has written a number of VCE English texts. He is also a highly experienced Year 12 English Assessor for VCAA and is passionate and extremely knowledgeable about all things to do with year 12 English. 

The Swimming sports were very well attended this year by our Year 12’s. We saw our Year12’s on mass arrives most enthusiastically dressed as cartoon characters and pop culture identities. Della even managed to come dressed as Mr Pallot’s Elephant. Mr Rigas gave a demonstration of how to eat an elephant. What a colourful and joyful affair it was seeing them all arrive dressed up in weird and amusing attire. Congratulations on putting in such a huge effort in these sports. 

From early November the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) conducts external written exams for all VCE Unit 3 & 4 subjects.  The purpose of these exams is that they contribute along with school-based assessment to give a Study Score for that subject which is then used to calculate an ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank).  The ATAR is used by universities to select students for particular courses of study. 

A student who sits their exams at the end of the year usually does so with the intention of continuing with further study at a particular university. Please note that a student who does not sit their exams can still access higher education studies such as TAFE programs without the need for an ATAR.

Some students who do not wish to pursue further study may still sit their exams to mark the culmination of their 13 years of schooling.  Some may like to keep the door open, as they believe that they may need an ATAR later in life to pursue some form of further study. 

There are some students of course that may decide not to pursue any further study at all and as a result can decide not to sit their final exams. These students do not require an ATAR to continue with further study and are only seeking to obtain their VCE Certificate.  This certificate would indicate that a student has successfully completed their VCE by completing a minimum of 16 units with passes in at least four Unit 3 & 4 sequences (subjects).

Any students wishing to complete an unscored VCE need to come and see Mr. Rigas ASAP .