Subject Selection

Course Counselling Process 2022 to 2023

Family Support

Parents and students will notice some changes to the curriculum offered at Seaford Secondary College in 2023. Our online Curriculum Guide contains comprehensive information about available programs. You are able to search by both year level and subject. We hope that this makes information about courses easy to find and understand as well as allowing you to see subject pathways and offerings explicitly described.

Please spend time exploring the Curriculum Guide and supporting your child with this important process. The Curriculum Guide has been designed to support students select a course to achieve success and assist them in their life after school.

When choosing subjects evidence suggests that students should choose subjects that:

enable them to work in subjects where they have strengths; in which they have achieved good results the previous semester/year
are challenging
provide the qualifications or background knowledge they need for the future
offer a range that is manageable eg a balance between theoretical and practical
which reflect their interests and abilities
that will develop skills, knowledge and attitudes useful throughout life

It takes quite a deal of self-awareness and honest self-evaluation to choose subjects that support success. Research however, indicates that students are more likely to choose subjects because of peer pressure or parental pressure rather than knowledge of their own strengths and goals. It is therefore important for students to seek advice and support widely; from their teachers, past students, from online resources and to honestly review their academic record.

Course Counselling

Current Year 10 and Year 11 Students

We have redesigned our Course Counselling at year 10 and year 11 to further support students’ choices. It is the role of friends and family to help individuals recognise their strengths and provide feedback that supports students to believe in themselves and their abilities.

We have consulted with Learning Area leaders to produce a Curriculum Guide that provides a logical overview of subjects that will assist in the important process of subject selection. At Seaford Secondary College, we have embedded a number of course selection activities in our Wellbeing and Pathways Program during term 3 to inform students of courses available to meet their needs. These include:

year level student information sessions
pop up sessions exploring requirements of VET courses offered by RTOs
provision of support materials including the online Curriculum Guide, student course selection book and course selection forms
Care Group teacher and specialist subject teacher support
Course Counselling and VET interviews for year 10 and 11 students and their families with our expert Course Counselling team
individual pre-course counselling sessions for year 10s

2023 SACE

2023 SACE

Students in years 11 and 12 will work to achieve their South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE). The SACE is designed to allow you to choose the subjects that suit your interests, skills and career goals.

While completing the SACE, you will gain or extend the knowledge and skills to help you in your future study and employment.

The SACE offers subjects and courses at two stages, Stage 1 and Stage 2. As you study the SACE, you’ll gain valuable literacy, numeracy, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, while gaining knowledge about the specific subjects you choose. The SACE also helps you learn how to work with and alongside others, and to understand how your decisions can affect people, situations and the world.

These capabilities are essential to your future education, training and careers, and your role as an active and informed citizen.

The SACE is a two-stage certificate. Most people study Stage 1 in year 11 and Stage 2 in year 12.

There are also other ways to complete the SACE, such as:

by earning credits for individual or community activities such as volunteering
as an adult learner
through recognition for other study achievements such as Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses or International Education

Each subject is worth either 10 or 20 credits, depending on the subject. Subjects are worth 10 credits for one semester and 20 credits for a full year. You will need 200 credits to complete your SACE. Some of the credits will come from compulsory requirements, but most will come from the subjects you choose to suit your interests and future goals, or recognition for knowledge and skills you’ve gained in your life outside school.

Seaford Secondary College Curriculum

Year 11 students in 2023 will be enrolled in a minimum of 120 SACE credits. English and Maths are compulsory subjects; however, students may choose the specific English and Maths subjects that suit their individual needs and abilities. To develop the skills for students to be successful in SACE, every year 11 student firstly undertakes Stage 1 Research Practices in semester 1 then completes the Stage 2 Research Project in semester 2.

All students must be aware that changing pathways during the course of study may not be possible. Therefore, it is vital that students select carefully with guidance from our expert Course Counselling team. Personal interviews will be conducted with parents, carers, student and a member of our expert team before a pathway can be endorsed. These interviews will be conducted on Wednesday 31st August 2022.

University pathway requires an ATAR and this course is designed for students who intend undertaking tertiary study. Students considering this pathway should select at least 4 -20 credit stage 2 subjects,

3 x 20 credit stage 2 subjects plus a University approved VET Cert III. Students MUST be committed to 10-15 hours of study per week across their subjects outside of school contact time.

PLEASE NOTE that students considering or choosing VET as part of their career pathway need to speak with the VET leader Deb Scotton to ensure the course aligns with SACE completion and/or University ATAR credit.