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VCE Update – Week 4 Term 1 2023

Congratulations to the students for making such a positive start to the year. There has been incredible energy in senior homestead and the students have hit the ground running. It was wonderful to see so many families at our Homestead Night. Our team of dedicated staff is looking forward to supporting your young people throughout their senior years.

Holiday Homework

Over the last week, our VCE teachers have actively followed up with students who have not completed holiday homework. We seek your support in discussing the importance of establishing effective study habits and time management routines with your child. We strongly recommend that students complete 3 hours of homework/subject each week. Should your child need support establishing study habits, they can reach out to the Careers Office or their Tutor for assistance.

This week, I updated all senior students about VCE rules, policies, terminology, etc., and direct them to the Senior Years Handbook (published on SEQTA). We have also completed the official VCE Enrolment forms and related paperwork. This presentation can also be viewed under the Homestead session on SEQTA.

I have summarised several of the most important issues below:

SACS and SATS

As part of their assessment, all studies include SACs (School Assessed Coursework) and/or SATs (School Assessed Tasks – only in studies where models or products are produced). Both SACs and SATs are internally set and marked. In addition, all studies have externally set and marked examination(s). SACs are moderated against examination performance to ensure equality across schools. The ‘Achievement of Outcomes’ is used to determine satisfactory completion in all studies; all studies have 4–6 outcomes that must be ‘achieved’ to a ‘minimum standard’. SACs are completed mainly during class time. This means that it is very important for students to be in class both to satisfy outcomes and to complete scheduled SACs.

A calendar of dates for Term 1, including SACs, SATs and examinations, has been published and distributed to all VCE Unit 3 and 4 students during Week 2, Term 1. It can also be found on SEQTA (under The Senior Years Portal)

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Students and parents should be aware of the following policies (in particular) in relation to the VCE.

Attendance Policy

VCE students are expected to attend at least 80% of scheduled classes (the only exception to this will be for legitimate, documented reasons, for example, ongoing illness). Students who do not attend enough classes may not be eligible for an ‘S’ rating in the subject involved. The usual method for notifying the school of an absence, ringing Reception on the morning of the absence, is necessary at all year levels. This is especially important if a student will be absent on the day of a scheduled SAC/SAT (see following).

Special Provision Policy

At Units 3 and 4, school-based Special Provision for missed SACs/SATs will be granted only to students with a Medical Certificate (or similar official documentation) covering the class(es) missed. Students should see me as soon as they return to school to make arrangements to complete the SAC/SAT missed.

At Units 1 and 2, students may apply for an extension of time for an assessment task so long as we have official parent notification that covers the class(es) missed. Teaching staff will ensure that students have written advice on important assessment dates and can satisfy these conditions for Special Provision.

Students should refer to the SAC/SAT Calendar as this calendar will allow all students (and parents) to see when the assessment is scheduled to take place and, if necessary, to obtain the required medical documents to apply for Special Provision (see above). The calendar will be updated periodically (as needed) and placed on SEQTA.

Ongoing Special Provision

*If you believe any medical, physical, emotional or environmental situation has, or will, disadvantage you/your student in completing the VCE, please come and speak to me ASAP. It is essential that I be kept up to date on issues – this way, I can ensure that students receive support and are aware of all options regarding Special Provisions.

VCAA Special Provision: SEA (Special Examination Arrangements)

*SEA (Special Examination Arrangements) may be granted for students with Severe Health Impairments, Physical Disabilities or Language/Learning Disorders that may impact examination performance. Please see me ASAP if you wish to discuss the relevant requirements. Any student who may have ground to apply needs to have the appropriate paperwork returned to Woodleigh no later than March 17th, 2023. An email has been sent to all students who we believed would qualify (at the end of 2022), and I will continue to follow up. Daily reminders are provided to students to assist them with following up on these applications.

VCE subject changes

All VCE subject changes MUST be made through Mr David Benton (located in the library) for 2023. Subject changes do require students to bring a signed note from home before we process the change. Students must continue to attend their allocated class until this paperwork is completed. Late subject changes are not recommended due to the requirement that students catch up on any missed SACs/SATs and all subject material they may have missed etc. If a student is unsure that they have made a wise subject choice, they should speak with myself or Ms Willian ASAP. Note that the VCAA has strict cut-off dates for subject changes – these are listed in the Senior Years Handbook.

All subject changes for Semester 1 must be completed by the end of Week 4 at the very latest. No further subject changes for Semester 1 will be considered beyond this time.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or wish to discuss any VCE matters.

VCE Results 2022

We celebrate the achievements of every one of our 2022 Year 12 students. For some of these students, it was the completion of an unscored VCE; for some, a transition to an Apprenticeship, a TAFE course and for many, a scored VCE (and resulting ATAR) were what they required to undertake the next part of their learning journey.

Student well-being and meeting the personalised needs of each individual is our key focus throughout the entire secondary journey, including Year 12. So we celebrate that so many of our students achieved highly (as was their goal) as part of the VCE success picture.


It is incumbent upon me to acknowledge that VCE success does not happen overnight, and is a result of all the hard work and dedication from all Year 7-10 and VCE teachers who have worked with our students. There were some truly outstanding achievements and not all of these are represented by the top scores. I also wish to recognize the guidance and work extended by all the staff who have worked with our unscored students this year and over their entire secondary journey to ensure they completed their VCE.

I look forward to supporting all students, particularly our Senior students, through the final years of their secondary schooling. 2023 will undoubtedly be a year full of mixed emotions and challenges and I wish you every success ahead.


GINA BOLCH
VCE Coordinator