A vibrant and diverse programme
Geelong Grammar students can select from a broad range of subjects across a spectrum of disciplines. Our VCE programme offers a vibrant and engaging curriculum that ensures the gifts of every student are energised and optimised.
VCE studies are made up of Units 1, 2, 3 or 4. Each unit is a semester, or half year in length. Students may choose to study Unit 1 or Unit 2 of a subject as stand-alone units, however Units 3 and 4 must be studied as a sequence.
Most students will undertake 22 units over the two-year VCE period; 12 units at Year 11, and 10 units at Year 12.
Students who display the academic ability and maturity in Year 9 have the option of completing either VCE Unit 1 or 2 or both in Year 10. Similarly, Year 11 students wishing to study a Unit 3 and 4 sequence need to be achieving an overall B average in Year 10 and a B+ in the prerequisite subject.
To obtain the VCE, students must satisfactorily complete sixteen units, including:
At least three units from the English group: English, English (EAL), Literature or English Language, and at least three other Unit 3 and 4 sequences.
At least one of the English units must be a Unit 3 and 4.
What is the ATAR?
The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is a means of statistically treating study scores and is important to tertiary institutions for student selection. Its calculation is undertaken by the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC).
The ATAR uses study scores from Unit 3 and 4 VCE studies and, where appropriate, VCE VET programs. The scores in each study are compared or ‘scaled’ to yield a percentile ranking for each student that reflects their comparative performance against all other candidates across the state.
Students completing the IB Diploma are also given a ranking, which can be converted to an ATAR for tertiary admission purposes.