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The School Certificate was a qualification issued by the Board of Studies, typically at the end of Year 10. The successful completion of the School Certificate was a requirement for completion of the Higher School Certificate. The School Certificate was issued for the last time in 2011. It has been replaced with the RoSA (Record of School Achievement)
To receive the School Certificate, students were required to sit for the School Certificate tests. There were five tests:
Each student was required to study English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography and Australian Civics and Citizenship and Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PD/H/PE) every year in Years 7-10. Each course was also supposed to include a degree of computer use, so students became familiar with that technology.
At some time during Years 7-10 students must have studied courses in Creative Arts (Visual Arts and Music), Technology and Applied Studies and a Language Other Than English.
The student may also have completed a number of additional studies (electives). These additional studies were required to be completed in a number of hours, as defined by the Board of Studies. A student had a choice of these additional studies according to the courses which were available at their school.
In his 1997 report "Shaping their future", Professor Barry McGaw was highly critical of the School Certificate. His report noted several deficiencies in the School Certificate, including:
Professor McGaw recommended that the School Certificate be abolished and replaced, for students leaving school, with a statement of achievement which would include each student’s results on statewide tests in literacy and numeracy as well as school-based results in all courses completed in Year 10. [1]
Despite Professor McGaw's recommendations, the New South Wales government remained committed to the School Certificate, though major changes were made to its structure and timing in order to address some of the concerns listed above. [2]
The disparity between the recommendations of the McGaw report and the actions taken by the New South Wales government led to frequent rumours and press reports of the ultimate abolition of the School Certificate. [3] However, the NSW Government remained committed to the School Certificate for several years. [4] In 2010, the New South Wales Government asked the Board of Studies to review the School Certificate as part of the changes to the school leaving age in New South Wales and also the development of a national curriculum. [5] The NSW Government announced the abolition of the School Certificate after 2011, with students in year 10 that year being the final cohort to sit the external examinations and receive the qualification. [6]
The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. However, private schools in Scotland often choose to follow the English GCSE system.
The Higher School Certificate (HSC) is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete senior high school level studies in New South Wales and some ACT schools in Australia, as well as some international schools in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and Papua New Guinea. It was first introduced in 1967, with the last major revision coming into effect in 2019. It is currently developed and managed by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA).
Secondary School Certificate (SSC), Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) or Matriculation examination, is a public examination in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Maldives conducted by educational boards for the successful completion of the secondary education exam in these countries. Students of 10th grade/class ten can appear in these. It is equivalent to the year 10 of the GCSE in England or the first two years of high schools in United States.
An examination board is an organization that sets examinations, is responsible for marking them, and distributes the results. Some are run by governmental entities; some are run as not-for-profit organizations.
Tenth grade is the tenth year of formal or compulsory education. It is typically the second year of high school. In many parts of the world, students in tenth grade are usually 15 or 16 years of age.
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Robert James Heffron, also known as Bob Heffron or R. J. Heffron, was a long-serving New South Wales politician, union organiser and Labor Party Premier of New South Wales from 1959 to 1964. Born in New Zealand, Heffron became involved in various Socialist and labour movements in New Zealand and later Australia before joining the Australian Labor Party. A prominent unionist organiser, we was gaoled for "conspiracy to strike action". He was later elected to the Parliament of New South Wales for Botany in 1930. However his disputes with party leader Jack Lang led to his expulsion from the ALP in 1936 and Heffron formed his own party from disgruntled Labor MPs known as the Industrial Labor Party. The success of his party enabled his readmission to the party and his prominence in a post-Lang NSW Branch which won office in 1941.
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English is the only compulsory subject for the award of the Higher School Certificate at the end of secondary schooling in New South Wales, Australia. Marks gained in at least two units of English must also be included in the calculation of the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) used to determine entry to university. Students must study one of the following courses:
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Bored of Studies is an Australian website targeted at students in New South Wales and Victoria. It is prominent among students for its Student Assessment Modeller that calculates approximate Australian Tertiary Admission Rank or Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank results, and for hosting study notes for the New South Wales Higher School Certificate courses. An extensive student community has evolved around its forum, which is frequented by school students, teachers and a growing number of university students. The site's name is a parody of the NSW Board of Studies, the former governing organisation for the Higher School Certificate (HSC).
Bradfield Senior College is a government-funded co-educational specialist senior secondary and vocational day school specialising in the creative industries, located on the Pacific Highway, St Leonards, New South Wales, in the lower north shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The A level, is a main school leaving qualification of the General Certificate of Education in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It is available as an alternative qualification in other countries, where it is similarly known as an A-Level.
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Parkes High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located in Parkes, in the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia. It is a part of the Henry Parkes Learning Community.
Sir Harold Wyndham was Director-General of Education in New South Wales between 1952 and 1968. He chaired the committee whose report led to the Education Act 1961 which completely re-organised secondary education in NSW.
The Higher School Certificate (HSC) Economics course is a 2-unit elective course undertaken by students in New South Wales across their final 2 years of schooling. The course includes a preliminary program for study across 3 terms of Year 11, and an HSC course for study over 4 terms of Year 12. In 2012, 5,262 students sat the HSC Economics external examination, with 12.5% receiving the top performance indicator of a Band 6. The course aims to take a "problems and issues approach" to the teaching and learning of economics, with a particular emphasis on the economic problems and issues experienced by individuals and society.
John Leslie Bennett is an Australian educator. He is Conjoint Professor of Education at the University of New South Wales. Bennett was Chief Executive of the Office of the Board of Studies (OBOS) from 2002 to 2009.
The Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW was the state government education agency in New South Wales, Australia. It was formed on 1 January 2014 following the amalgamation of the Board of Studies and the NSW Institute of Teachers, and replaced on 1 January 2017 by the New South Wales Education Standards Authority.
A high school diploma or high school degree is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school. A high school diploma is awarded after completion of courses of studies lasting four years, typically from grade 9 to grade 12. It is the school leaving qualification in the United States and Canada.