Introduction to Courses at Morley Senior High School
Studying at Year 11 and 12 level requires a significant commitment from students and Morley SHS offers the following study pathways:
• University Pathway Program (University)
• General and/or Vocational Pathway Program (Non-University – including TAFE, Training, Apprenticeships and Employment).
All students study six (6) courses in Year 11 and six (6) in Year 12. Once a student has commenced their program of study, course changes are discouraged and all Year 12 students are therefore expected to continue the courses commenced in Year 11.
University or ATAR Pathway Courses
It is recommended that students aiming for university entrance study a minimum of five ATAR courses in Year 11 and the corresponding five ATAR courses in Year 12.
ATAR courses are externally examined and attract 50% of the final mark from an external examination in Year 12 and 50% from the school assessments.
General or Non-University Pathway Courses
These courses are completely assessed by the school and do not contribute towards university entry. It is highly recommended that students study all the selected courses over a two year period to maximise their graduation prospects.
Certificate Courses / Vocational Education and Training (VET)
The Certificate courses are intended for students who are pursuing studies at TAFE, seeking employment, pursuing traineeships or apprenticeships or wish to take advantage of alternative entry pathways to university through the Diploma programs available at TAFE. (For information on alternative pathways to university, please contact the individual universities directly.)
Workplace Learning is a Schools Curriculum and Standards Authority developed endorsed program and open to students in Years 11 and 12. To complete this endorsed program, a student works in one or more real workplace/s to develop a set of transferable workplace skills. The student must record the number of hours completed and the tasks undertaken in the workplace in the Authority’s Workplace Learning Logbook. The student must also provide evidence of his/her knowledge and understanding of the workplace skills by completing the Authority’s Workplace Learning Skills Journal after each 55 hours completed in the workplace. Unit equivalence is allocated on the basis of 1unit equivalent for each 55 hours completed in the workplace, to a maximum of 4 units. The total number of hours completed in the workplace is reported on the student’s WASSA – West. Australian Statement of School Achievement.
Content All students involved in workplace learning at Morley SHS spend three complete weeks in a designated workplace. Each student is usually required to attend the workplace in Week 9 of Terms 1, 2 and 3. Students who are absent for any part of this period are also required to complete additional catch-up hours during Week 2 of Term 4. To achieve endorsed units towards graduation in any given year students must:
- complete a total of a minimum of 55 up to 110 hours in the workplace >maintain a log book documenting workplace attendance
- provide evidence of tasks undertaken
- answer 20 prescribed questions pertaining to their work placement
- have their log books signed off by the employer’s
Pre-requisites
The pre-requisites for each course are outlined in the detailed course descriptions to assist students when choosing appropriate courses so that they may enjoy success in their senior school studies.