Curriculum
Year 9 and 10
The Curriculum is sourced from the School Curriculum and Standards Authority and is the Western Australian version of the Australian Curriculum. It comprises content descriptors, General Capabilities and Cross Curricular Priorities. General Capabilities are a set of identified skills that are to be included across all learning areas. At Scotch, we achieve this through explicitly teaching the Approaches to Learning. Cross Curricular Priorities engage students with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures, Australia’s engagement with Asia and Sustainability. Ideally, teachers find genuine opportunities to deliver their content through the lens of the CCP. The CCP are best taught where appropriate rather than forcefully constructing lessons that explicitly teach them.
Year 11 and 12
Students have the choice of three pathways:
- International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP)
- Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) – Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR)
- Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) – Alternative Academic Pathway (AAP)
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP)
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a broad-based, two-year (11 and 12) upper school course that offers students an alternative to WACE as a pathway to university studies. Students study six subjects and three core components. Three subjects must be studied at a Higher Level and three subjects at a Standard Level. Additionally, students are required to complete the three core components: Extended Essay; Theory of Knowledge; and Creativity, Action and Service. It aims to encourage students to be knowledgeable and inquiring learners with an emphasis on developing intercultural understanding and open-mindedness.
Students will select six subjects; one from each of the six subject groups. Students studying the subject at a Higher Level (HL) and Standard Level (SL) are placed in the same class because HL and SL students have common units of work. However, HL students are required to complete additional units of work. Teachers dismiss SL students from classes when they are delivering a HL unit. SL students work independently in the Library on other course work and then return to class for common units of study.
Students are timetabled to study HL subjects for 240 hours and SL subjects for 150 hours over the two years. Additionally, students receive 100 hours of instruction time in classes for Theory of Knowledge and they have the same teacher over the two years of the programme for each subject.
Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE)
The WACE is administered by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA). Students must complete at least 10 courses over two years. An ATAR is calculated for students who complete at least four ATAR courses in Year 12. Students on the AAP can also complete Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses whilst at school. The VET programme ‘…enables students to acquire workplace skills through nationally recognised training described within an industry-developed training package or an accredited course. A VET qualification is issued by an RTO. The achievement of a VET qualification signifies that a student has demonstrated competency against the skills and knowledge required to perform effectively in the workplace.’