Senior School

The Senior School at Portland Secondary College consists of students in Years 11 and 12 and is lead by the Senior Sub-School Assistant Principal, the Year 12 Level Leader and the Year 11 Leader. Students can undertake the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) and can also access Vocational Education and Training subjects (VET).

The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) provides diverse pathways to further study or training at university or TAFE and to employment.

Each VCE study is designed to be a 2-year program, with Units 1 and 2 at a Year 11 standard and Units 3 and 4 at a Year 12 standard. Each VCE unit involves 50 hours of scheduled classroom instruction and 50 hours of self-directed learning for students.

A student must satisfactorily complete 16 units to be awarded their VCE, which must include three units from the English group (including a Unit 3-4 sequence) and at least three other sequences of Unit 3-4 studies.

At PSC it is expected that students will undertake 6 subjects (12 units) in Year 11 and 5 subjects (10 units) in Year 12, for a total of 22 units. Exceptions can be made to this through the senior sub-school AP.

Students may undertake Units 1, 2 or 3 without previously undertaking a Unit of a study. However, it is strongly advised that students complete Units 1 and 2 of Accounting, Chemistry, Languages and Physics before attempting Unit 3 of these subjects.

Students must successfully undertake Unit 3 before commencing Unit 4 of a study. The levels of achievement obtained by students for Units 3 and 4 form the basis of a student’s Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR). Most universities require an ATAR for entrance to their courses for high school leavers (but not all).

Students who are interested in undertaking the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning should see the information on the website under VCAL.

Subjects on offer in the Senior School include:

English

Intermediate English
English
English as a second Language
Literature

Mathematics

Intermediate Mathematics
General Mathematics
Further Mathematics
Mathematical Methods
Specialist Mathematics

Science

Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Psychology

LOTE

Indonesian
Also Correspondence via Distance Ed.

The Arts

Art
Visual Communication & Design
Music Performance
Studio Arts
Drama
Media

Health & Physical Education

Health & Human Development
Outdoor and Environmental Studies
Physical Education

Technology

Systems Engineering
Design & Technology (Wood)
Design & Technology (Textiles)
Food Studies

Humanities

Accounting
Ancient History
Australian and Global Politics
Geography
Legal Studies
Economics
Modern History
Sociology
Business Management

Vocational Education & Training – may be accessed through SWTAFE

Community Services
Early Childhood Education and Care
Engineering
Furniture Making
Kitchen Operations
Tourism

PSC Student handbooks are available to students each year on Compass or via the website or upon enrolment at Portland Secondary College.

2022 Student Handbook will be available in July 2021.