It’s subject selection season for many of our students. Recently, our Year 10 students and families joined us for our online information evening in preparation for selecting their VCE or VCAL pathway for the final two years of their secondary schooling. Since then, they’ve been exploring the subject selection handbook and watching video overviews to try to narrow down their choices from the 37 Year 11 subjects available for 2022.
To help them with their decision-making, each student will have a one-on-one interview with a Pathways Coordinator to provide support and advice. This interview will also ensure that they are choosing the right subjects to enable whatever they are hoping to do after Year 12.
Our Year 11 students have also had to finalise their Year 12 subjects for 2022 and our Year 8 and 9 students will be making their subject selections for Year 9 and 10 next year.
If you are supporting a young person currently thinking through their choices for 2022, here are some things to keep in mind:
· Ask open-ended questions that help them to clarify their own thinking, rather than jumping in with what you think they should do.
· Help them to think about what they really enjoy, and which subjects they have naturally been interested in over the years. A student who loves a subject and is motivated to learn is more likely to find success, as opposed to a student who is tackling a subject that they don’t really enjoy but feel they should do rather than want to do.
· Encourage them to do their research (read the handbook, watch the videos, ask lots of questions). Students can easily assume they know what a subject will be like at VCE but may not have realised that familiar subjects can offer different challenges and opportunities when studied in the senior years.
· Give them time and keep talking. They may need to change their mind several times and these decisions are best made without too much pressure.
· For most universities in Australia, the number of pre-requisite subjects is usually limited. It is okay to take a wide range of subjects rather than only subjects associated with their future study plans. Students are given lots of support from our Careers and Pathways teachers to check the pre-requisites for the courses they are interested in.
· A motivated, excited teenager is much easier to live with for the last two years of school. Helping them to find their ‘best fit’ for their study – whether that is VCAL or VCE – is a great way for parents to support personal maturity and growth. That usually means taking the back seat in the decision-making process and allowing students to shape their own path forward.
If you have any questions about subject selection for your child, please contact our Secondary Office or your child’s year level Coordinator.