To achieve a WACE, students must:
- Meet the requirements of the Literacy and Numeracy Assessment to demonstrate a minimum standard based on skills regarded as essential for individuals to meet the demands of everyday life and work in a knowledge-based economy.
- Complete a minimum of four Year 12 ATAR courses including the external examination (i.e. be eligible for an ATAR) or complete a Certificate II or higher.
- Complete two Year 11 English units and a pair of Year 12 English units.
- Complete at least 20 units (or equivalents) including a minimum of 10 Year 12 units (or equivalents).
- Complete at least one pair of units from List A course and one pair of units from List B course in Year 12.
- Achieve a minimum of 14 C grades in Year 11 and Year 12 units (or equivalents) including at least 6 C grades in Year 12 units (or equivalents).
Note: If students do not meet the literacy and numeracy standard by the time they exit secondary school, they can apply to the Authority to re-sit the assessment. All students (whether they have achieved the WACE or not) will receive a Western Australian Statement of Student Achievement – a record of all courses and / or programs completed.
To achieve a WACE, students will be required to meet the requirements of the Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA) by demonstrating achievement at or above a minimum standard, or have previously achieved Band 8 or higher in the associated component of their Year 9 NAPLAN tests.
The OLNA has three components – reading, writing and numeracy.
All ATAR and General courses demonstrate an increasing level of complexity from Year 11 to Year 12.
Course units must be completed sequentially, with Year 11 units (1 & 2) being undertaken before Year 12 units (3 & 4) unless students enrol directly in Year 12 units without completing Year 11 units.
Year 11 units (1 & 2) are paired. A course change date will be notified by SCSA and it will not be possible to switch after this date.
If students switch courses in Year 11 (before the deadline), they will need to complete the assessment requirements of the new course.
The WACE aims to provide a range of courses offering both breadth and depth so that students can engage with courses that are personally challenging, that enhance their development and maximise their future study and career options.
Courses and subjects developed by the WA School Curriculum & Standards Authority (SCSA) help to achieve this by providing two pathways to achieving the WACE.
- ATAR Pathway (students aiming for direct university or TAFE Diploma level entry) – Select at least five ATAR + 1 General / VET courses (we recommend all students do at least one certificate course, if not doing 6 ATAR courses).
- General / VET Pathway (includes VET Certificate, General and endorsed courses) – Select 5 General courses + 1 VET course
- What you need to do:
- Select six courses plus two reserve selections (An English course is compulsory)
- Select at least one subject from List B.
Completing a Certificate 2 or achieving an ATAR are requirements towards achieving a WACE. Because VET Certificate courses are generally not developed by SCSA, credit equivalent to SCSA course units is allocated as shown in the table. Completing a VET certificate requires students to demonstrate competency across a range of pre-selected Units of Competency (generally 11-14 units).
Yanchep Secondary College will deliver a range of VET certificates in partnership with a range of Registered Training Organizations (RTOs). The majority of our qualifications are delivered over two years; students must remain enrolled in qualifications for two years in order to complete the Certificate.
Four C grade WACE course credits are allocated after certificate course requirements are completed. Non-completion of a certificate will result in no C grade WACE course credits.
