Course structure 

Course Structure

• Curriculum operates on two semesters.
• Select electives based on interest, vocation and prerequisites for University entrance.
• Students are offered the opportunity to select a VCE/VET Acceleration Study as part of their course. 
• Students selecting a LOTE and a VCE Acceleration study will have two elective offerings left for the year (one each semester).
• Students have the opportunity to select and option for Science study in Semester 2 based on their interest in the VCE Science subjects.
• Students are encouraged to select a VCE/VET Acceleration Study as part of their course. 
• The structure has one cycle which corresponds to 10 days (or two weeks).
• Classes are 60 minutes each x 5 per day 

Acceleration (VCE and VET) Studies 

Year 10 students are offered the opportunity to undertake one acceleration study from the range of VCE and VET studies offered. This would take up two of their elective options. 

For some students, Acceleration is an opportunity to study subjects in Units 1 & 2 that would not normally fit into their two year VCE or to have an industry-related experience whilst still attending school, in the form of a VET study. 

Enabling year 10 students to do a VCE subject means that they can complete that Unit 3 & 4 subject in year 11, thus experiencing the rigour and challenge of VCE in one subject. Many of these subjects will be combined year level classes with year 10s and 11s thus decisions on academic and social readiness will be taken for the best common learning and organisational outcome. Year 11 will be given priority in classes where numbers are limited. 

Students who would like to accelerate in a second Unit 1 & 2 subject will be considered on a case by case basis. Should a second acceleration be approved there is no guarantee the student will be allowed to accelerate in the two Unit 3 & 4 subjects when they are in year 11 as Senior School policies and protocols have to be considered. The subjects offered from VCE in year 10 generally exclude subjects in English, Maths and Languages where the year 10 content is essential for strong future academic outcomes.

Undertaking an acceleration VCE study without the extra year of background in that study, and without the extra year of maturity, can be a disadvantage for some students.

Consequently, it is recommended that students carefully consider which study they select as their acceleration VCE subject. Speaking with staff in the relevant Domain Area and obtaining a recommendation from a current teacher as to the suitability of choosing this acceleration study is part of the application process. 

A VCE or VET study requires students to have highly developed organisational skills to manage the workload together with their year 10 studies. Students can focus so much on the VCE study that they leave little time for other subjects. The result may be that they fail to develop the level of skill in their year 10 subjects that they will need to excel in year 11. 

To be considered for a Unit 1 and 2 subject, year 9 students will need to demonstrate the following in their year 9 semester 1 report: 

• 80% average across all learning tasks, in the subject area where the student wishes to accelerate 
• Being at standard or above standard across all subjects 
• Good to Excellent in the work habits across most subjects 
• 80% attendance 

A 90% attendance requirement is required in VCE (VET). This means that students cannot receive an S (satisfactory) if they do not meet this attendance criterion. It must be noted that family holidays DO NOT fall into the “approved absence” category, and so families who intend taking their daughters out of school for a holiday will seriously put their daughter at risk of receiving an N for their VCE Accelerated study. 

Participation in a year 10 Acceleration subject can be the highlight of student learning in Year 10. 

Use this link to access full 2023 VCE and VET curriculum handbook.