Victorian Certificate of Education

Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE)

Craigieburn Secondary College offers a broad and versatile VCE program to cater for the diversity of student pathways. Based on the widely promoted premise that VCE is a University pathway, students can choose VCE studies that provide entry into the full spectrum of University courses. These VCE studies comprise those from the Mathematics and Sciences, Humanities, Technology, Foreign Languages, the Arts and Performance, Health and PE, Commerce and, of course English. All students receive extensive course counselling to ensure that interests and aspirations are understood and used to shape individual programs.

Students have access to VCE studies from Year 10 through our VCE Advancement Program, the purpose of which is to maximise their ATAR score. A range of Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs are also available to complement VCE programs, and VCE students are expected to select VET programs with scored assessment, which make a contribution towards the ATAR.

We believe that our highly successful VCE program and its delivery maximise engagement and student success by offering a wide range of subjects to cater for the needs and interests of all students and ensuring that teachers place their students at the forefront of their practice. Whilst great strides have been made in recent years and outstanding VCE results have been achieved, we will not be deterred from our unwavering focus of striving for continuously improving them.

How VCE Works

Studies and Units

It is important to understand the difference between a study and a unit.

A study is a sequence of half year units in a particular curriculum area such as English, History, or Maths. Most of the studies will be comprised of four parts or units.

Each unit will be for a semester (half year). Usually Units 1 and 2 are taken in Year 11 and Units 3 and 4 in Year 12. Units 1 and 2 can be taken separately but Units 3 and 4 must be taken as a sequence.

What a Student must do to Achieve their VCE

Over the two years of study, a student must satisfactorily complete a total of at least 16 units. Most students will attempt 12 units in Year 11 and 10 units in Year 12.

Included in the units that are satisfactorily completed must be:

• At least three units from the English group with at least one unit at Unit 3 or 4 level.
• Three sequences of Units 3 and 4 studies other than English which may include any number of English sequences, once the English requirement has been met.
• For the purposes of an ATAR score and VTAC entry students must achieve an S result for an English 3 and 4 sequence.

Unit Outcomes

Each VCE unit includes a set of two to four outcomes. These outcomes must be achieved for satisfactory completion of the unit. Achievement of the outcomes is based on the teacher’s assessment of the student’s performance on assessment tasks designated for the unit.

Satisfactory completion of units is determined by the school, in accordance with the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) requirements. When you have satisfactorily completed at least 16 units, including the units described in the bullet points above, you will be awarded your VCE. S’s (Satisfactory) and N’s (Not Satisfactory) appear on your official VCAA Statement of Results as well as your school report.

Senior School - Year 11 VCE / VM

Senior School - Year 12 VCE / VM