About the VCE
- The VCE is the senior secondary certificate most Victorian students receive when they finish school, usually across Years 11 and 12.
- Each study has four units. Units 1 and 2 (usually Year 11) can be taken on their own; Units 3 and 4 (usually Year 12) must be taken as a sequence in the same year.
- To get the VCE, a student satisfactorily completes at least 16 units, including at least three units from the English group (with a Unit 3 and 4 sequence) and three more Unit 3 and 4 sequences.
- Units 3 and 4 combine school-based assessment and external assessment set by the VCAA, usually an end-of-year examination.
- School-based assessment is either school-assessed coursework (SAC), done mainly in class time, or a school-assessed task (SAT), an extended product such as an artwork or folio in studies like Art, Media and Visual Communication Design.
- A student who completes Units 3 and 4 with at least two graded assessments gets a study score, reported out of 50 relative to everyone taking that study that year.
- Study scores are used by VTAC to calculate the ATAR.
- Students taking a Unit 3 and 4 sequence are expected to sit the General Achievement Test (GAT) in June; it does not count towards completing the VCE.
- Each study follows a VCAA study design that sets out units, areas of study, outcomes and assessment.
English
Mathematics
Science
Humanities and social sciences
Health and physical education
Technologies
The Arts
Languages
Other states and territories
Questions teachers ask
- What is the VCE?
- The VCE is the senior secondary certificate most Victorian students receive when they finish school, usually across Years 11 and 12.
- How is the VCE structured?
- Each study has four units. Units 1 and 2 (usually Year 11) can be taken on their own; Units 3 and 4 (usually Year 12) must be taken as a sequence in the same year. To get the VCE, a student satisfactorily completes at least 16 units, including at least three units from the English group (with a Unit 3 and 4 sequence) and three more Unit 3 and 4 sequences.
- Can Heapso plan for VCE courses?
- Yes. Choose a course and unit, and Heapso plans a unit, lessons or revision worksheets around it in Australian English. Check the official VCAA syllabus or study design for exact requirements.