Careers & Pathways
Term 3 is always an exciting time, as students start to discuss careers, pathways and select subjects for the next year. Course selection for 2024 is particularly exciting because our current Year 10s are selecting their VCE program and studies.
Our handbooks for Year 9, Year 10 and VCE / VCE Vocational Major are now available on Compass. Students are given time and structure in Personal Development to use the handbooks to select their 2024 subjects and reflect on areas of strength and improvement for the next year.
We also encourage all families to read through the VCE/VCE Vocational Major Handbooks as these outline several important features of Year 11 and 12 including our VCE, MyVCE and VCE Vocational Major programs as well as case study examples of how students can use each program to reach their career goal at the end of school.
Even if you’re a couple of years away from Year 11, understanding the breadth of our offering as well as the structure and rules in the VCE and VCE VM is invaluable. In fact, several aspects of our 7-10 programming (Academic Catch Up, Grading, Learning Task Assessment types and Elective subjects) mirror what is required at the VCE.
The decisions students are making at Years 9 and 10 are important, but they are not making them alone. As a reminder students and families can access:
- Careers counselling appointments with our Careers Practitioner Jacqueline Hunter or Teacher Alex Connor. You can discuss possible TAFE or University courses and prerequisites, apprenticeships and traineeships and career pathways.
- A course selection interview during student learning conferences (compulsory for Year 10) to review subject preferences for 2024 by backwards planning from a post-schooling career goal. In these discussions, you can ask questions about specific VCE subjects, identify any important applications, pre-work or catch up that needs to happen in 2023 and access support in putting together your academic program.
A question that often comes up during this time is what program we offer for students with disabilities or additional needs.
The answer is that we don’t have one program or recommendation for this group of students but instead work with families and students to form individualised plans based on their strengths, career objectives and interests. Individualised plans will span from undertaking the VCE with special provision and/or external examination arrangements through to external traineeships and specialised programs for career readiness.
These pathways will be a strong focus for senior students’ SSG meetings, many of which have already taken place this term. Families with younger students are also welcome to include post-schooling pathways into their SSG and goal-setting discussions with the Inclusion team whenever they wish to do so.
Download or view relevant subject handbooks here:
VCE & VM Subject Handbook
Year 10 Subject Handbook
Year 9 Subject Handbook
By Angela Lane, Sonia Loudon, Kyle Schutz & Andrew Stock