Year 1-2
Stated in the Australian Curriculum Years 1-2…
“Priority is given to the important areas of literacy and numeracy development… English and Mathematics are the core subjects for this”
- Australian Curriculum Years 1-2
English:
Students are exposed to texts whose aim are to entertain, inform, or persuade. These texts include picture books, non-fiction, and film.
They are presented to develop key literacy skills and nurture the development of independent, confident, and expressive learners.
A student studying the Australian Curriculum Year 1-2 English Course will…
- Listen to, read, view, and talk about simple information books, stories, films, and various online texts.
- Develop independent reading and communicate their thoughts and feelings regarding them to peers.
- Sound out and recognise words
- Develop fundamental punctuation skills (e.g. Capitalisation and full stop application)
- Generate basic sentence structures
- Develop handwriting legibility
- Express their thoughts through writing.
Mathematics:
Students are exposed to the recognition of various maths symbols and the basic language to communicate mathematical ideas. They are presented scenarios that are designed to develop investigation and problem-solving skills.
A student studying the Australian Curriculum Year 1-2 Mathematics Course will…
- Describe number sequences and locate numbers on a number line
- Identify simple fractions via pictures
- Develop shape recognition and unit measurement application
- Identify and interpret analogue times and calendar dates
- Describe the outcomes of a chance event
- Learn the exchange of Australian money
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Year 3-4
Stated in the Australian Curriculum Years 3-4…
“English and Mathematics continue to be a priority… The curriculum further builds the essential knowledge and skills in literacy, consolidating ‘learning to read and write’”
- Australian Curriculum Years 3-4
English:
Students are exposed to more difficult and challenging texts to read independently and are introduced to different styles when writing.
These more difficult and challenging texts come in the form of chapter books and non-fiction information pieces.
A student studying the Australian Curriculum Year 3-4 English Course will…
- Explore a wide range of texts primarily dealing with imaginative and informative topics
- Recognise and write texts that persuade and explain
- Write imaginative texts that include characters and events
- Understand the importance of pictures and graphics in texts as a means to help explain a topic
- Recognise various types of language used in texts to cater to specific audiences and purposes
- Identify ideas/meanings texts provide
- Attempt to apply correct grammar in the form of simple or complex sentences
- Refine accuracy in spelling and punctuation
- Engage in communication practices such as presentations and class discussions
Mathematics:
Students are exposed to more complex understandings of numbers, patterns and relationships, measurement, and geometry. The modelling of fractions and decimals using physical material has great emphasis during these schooling years.
A student studying the Australian Curriculum Year 3-4 Mathematics Course will…
- Identify strategies to add, subtract, multiply and divide
- Represent the value of money and make simple calculations
- Recall simple multiplication
- Represent fractions on a number line
- Explore number patterns consisting of addition, subtraction and multiplication
- Measure temperature, lengths, shapes and objects
- Solve problems that incorporate time and map reading
- Create symmetrical shapes and classify angles (acute, right-angle, obtuse)
- Construct graphs and list the likelihood of events
Year 5-6
English:
Students are exposed to more complicated texts and are tasked to express their opinions, thoughts and feeling in the comparison of these texts. They will engage in a wide variety in structured writing such as reviews, reports and narratives.
Skills to communicate with others in most settings is prioritised as well as the transferability of literary skills to other subjects.
A student studying the Australian Curriculum Year 5-6 English Course will…
- Analyse and interpret how authors organise their texts
- Harness vocabulary to communicate ideas, characters, and events effectively.
- Compare and analyse information in a variety of texts
- Incorporate evidence in their writing that comes from the read text
- Incorporating electronic devices to assist in creating detailed texts about topics potentially studied in class.
- Write complex sentences using grammar correctly.
- Continue to expand their vocabulary
- Adopt accurate spelling and punctuation
- Immerse themselves in questioning, clarifying, rephrasing and contributing to class discussions.
Mathematics:
Students begin refining their understanding of fractions and decimals. They tasked to use models, pictures, and symbols to represent and communicate mathematical ideas.
A student studying the Australian Curriculum Year 5-6 Mathematics Course will…
- Place positive and negative numbers on a number line
- Add and subtract decimals and fractions
- Compare and interpret statistical graphs
- Convert and understand 12 and 24-hour time
- Continue/create sequences involving whole numbers, fractions and decimals and understanding their rules
- Measuring length, volume, area, capacity, and mass as well as the perimeter and area of rectangles
- List outcomes of chance experiments
- apply fractions, decimals, percentages, angles, and measurements to solve problems
- explain mental strategies for calculations
- pose appropriate questions for statistical investigations.
Year 7-8
English:
Students are exposed to and are to read a multitude of texts and interpret a wide variety of literature. Texts designed to influence their audiences become the main focus in this year group.
A student studying the Australian Curriculum Year 7-8 English Course will…
- Read and interpret a range of challenging fiction texts
- Compare, analyse, and question ideas and information in texts determining the author’s perspective using evidence.
- Create well-organised texts for different purposes and audiences to present an argument or convey information
- Read online texts and use a range of software to create texts
- Recognise and use a wide range of language features such as sub-headings
- Know and use a wide range of words, including those from technical and literary language
- Give presentations that include visual and digital features
Mathematics:
Students will be exposed to the concept of irrational numbers and introduced to algebra when solving problems. The development of geometric reasoning and statistical sampling will be addressed in this age group.
A student studying the Australian Curriculum Year 7-8 Mathematics Course will…
- Connect the known properties of arithmetic with the study of algebra
- Develop simple logical geometric arguments
- Find estimates of means and proportions of populations
- Compare prices of products packaged in different quantities
- Represent simple algebraic relations by graphs
- Calculate areas of shapes and volumes of simple solids
- Apply ratios and interpret statistical graphs
- Calculate accurately with positive and negative numbers.
Science:
Students are exposed to microscopic and atomic structures. Development of sophisticated views in evidence and the capacity to calculate changes accurately and compare amounts is addressed in this year group.
A student studying the Australian Curriculum Year 7-8 Science Course will…
- Further develop their understandings of systems through a study of ecosystems and cellular systems
- Explore renewable and non-renewable resources, and the applications of science to solve important issues
- Explore changes in matter at a particle level and link them to physical and chemical changes
- Investigate the role of energy in causing change in systems such as the cycle of forming rocks
- Consider ethical implications of scientific research and development.
Humanities:
Students are exposed to enquiry skills regarding social, historical, geographical
environmental, civic, political, business, and economic knowledge/understandings. They are to view these issues from a local to a global scale.
A student studying the Australian Curriculum Year 7-8 Science Course will…
- History: Investigate ancient to modern societies of Europe and other regions, and the legacy of their ideas in today’s world
- Geography: Explore factors and challenges that influence how people access resources and make places liveable (links between places, people, and environments) and how changes can be managed sustainably.
- Civics and Citizenship: Learn about citizenship, laws, and the democratic values and group participation that promote a cohesive society.
- Economics and Business: Understand modern and traditional markets, specifically, the roles of and relationships between:
- Consumers
- Businesses
- Entrepreneurs
- Work
- Factors that might affect work in the future.
Year 9-10
Stated in the Australian Curriculum Years 9-10…
“Students bring together their knowledge and experience to consider possible pathways for study in senior secondary school and vocational education.”
- Australian Curriculum Years 9-10
English:
Students are challenged in developing and justifying their own interpretation to texts and are to create a variety of texts that communicate complex ideas. This is through experimentation with language, text structures and images.
A student studying the Australian Curriculum Year 9-10 English Course will…
- Read a range of challenging texts that’s explore themes and issues
- Compare and contrast ideas in different texts, justifying their own interpretations
- Navigate and analyse online texts
- Talk about the way they select language features and vocabulary when creating texts
- Explain different viewpoints and perspectives using logical arguments
- Create written and multimodal texts such as speaking to a prepared PowerPoint presentation
- Edit and refine their own work and provide constructive feedback to peers
- Design webpages that include sound, images, and text
- Plan, rehearse and deliver longer presentations with relevant and well-researched content.
Mathematics:
Students are to extend their understanding of algebra, graphing and geometry. Introductions to trigonometry in the form of right-angled triangles and working with probability and statistics is implemented in this year group.
A student studying the Australian Curriculum Year 9-10 Mathematics Course will…
- Compare simple and compound interest
- Model practical situations involving surface areas and volumes
- Solve problems involving right-angle trigonometry
- Calculate areas of shapes and volumes of simple solids
- Apply ratio and scale factors to similar figures
- Formulate geometric proofs interpret and compare datasets in statistics
- Explain the use of relative frequencies to estimate probabilities.
Science:
Students are challenged in exploring evidence for various scientific theories and develop an understanding as to the importance of gathering accurate and reliable data. This is ultimately to provide validity in their evaluation and conclusion of results.
A student studying the Australian Curriculum Year 9-10 Science Course will…
- Investigate body systems and ecosystems as examples of interdependent, interactive systems
- Investigate changes in our genes that affect both our characteristics and evolutionary history
- Deepen their understanding of changes in chemical systems that can be caused by changes at the atomic level
- Investigate how the wave and particle theory can explain the behaviour of light
- Deepen their understanding of the physical laws of motion
- Critically analyse and evaluate claims and approaches used to solve problems, while considering ethics involved and how people’s lives might be affected
- Critically consider the importance of science-based careers
Year 11-12
English Language and Australian Cultural Studies ~ ELACS (Year 12):
The ELACS course is a part of the Western Australian Universities’ Foundation Program (WAUFP) course designed to accommodate to international students for first year undergraduate study in an Australian university.
In studying this course, students are:
- Provided a program that enables students to concentrate on courses that will be of most use in their chosen university course.
- Provided course work that will assist students to settle into the Australian community.
- Developing a variety of study skills in relation to note making, assignment preparation and presentation, preparing for and sitting examinations.
- Developing English language competency.
English as an additional language or Dialect (EALD):
A student who wishes to apply for the EALD program will have to provide documentation as evidence that English is in fact an additional language or dialect to them.
Students who study the course will engage in written and verbal assignments/examinations that are primarily related to Australian culture, history, and practices. Assignments / Examinations range from tasks that require the student to answer questions after listening to verbal conversations to reading written/visual texts and providing a personal stance on a particular idea/issue with evidence.
English ATAR:
“The English ATAR course focuses on developing students’ analytical, creative, and critical thinking and communication skills in all language modes, encouraging students to critically engage with texts from their contemporary world, the past, and from Australian and other cultures. Through close study and wide reading, viewing and listening, students develop the ability to analyse and evaluate the purpose, stylistic qualities, and conventions of texts and to enjoy creating imaginative, interpretive, persuasive and analytical responses in a range of written, oral, multimodal and digital forms.”
- School curriculum and Standard Authority (SCASA)
Mathematical Applications:
“This course focuses on the use of mathematics to solve problems in contexts that involve financial modelling, geometric and trigonometric analysis, graphical and network analysis, and growth and decay in sequences. It also provides opportunities for students to develop systematic strategies based on the statistical investigation process for answering statistical questions that involve analysing univariate and bivariate data, including time series data. The Mathematics Applications ATAR course is designed for students who want to extend their mathematical skills beyond Year 10 level, but whose future studies or employment pathways do not require knowledge of calculus. The course is designed for students who have a wide range of educational and employment aspirations, including continuing their studies at university or TAFE.”
- School curriculum and Standard Authority (SCASA)
Mathematical Methods:
“This course focuses on the use of calculus and statistical analysis. The study of calculus provides a basis for understanding rates of change in the physical world, and includes the use of functions, their derivatives and integrals, in modelling physical processes. The study of statistics develops students’ ability to describe and analyse phenomena that involve uncertainty and variation.
Mathematics Methods provides a foundation for further studies in disciplines in which mathematics and statistics have important roles. It is also advantageous for further studies in the health and social sciences. In summary, this course is designed for students whose future pathways may involve mathematics and statistics and their applications in a range of disciplines at the tertiary level.”
- School curriculum and Standard Authority (SCASA)
Mathematical Specialist:
“This course provides opportunities, beyond those presented in the Mathematics Methods ATAR course, to develop rigorous mathematical arguments and proofs, and to use mathematical models more extensively. Mathematics Specialist contains topics in functions and calculus that build on and deepen the ideas presented in the Mathematics Methods course, as well as demonstrate their application in many areas. The Mathematics Specialist course also extends understanding and knowledge of statistics and introduces the topics of vectors, complex numbers and matrices. Mathematics Specialist is the only ATAR mathematics course that should not be taken as a stand-alone course and it is recommended to be studied in conjunction with the Mathematics Methods ATAR course as preparation for entry to specialised university courses such as engineering, physical sciences and mathematics.”
- School curriculum and Standard Authority (SCASA)
Physics ATAR:
“In the Physics ATAR course students will learn how energy and energy transformations can shape the environment from the small scale, in quantum leaps inside an atom’s electron cloud, through the human scale, in vehicles and the human body, to the large scale, in interactions between galaxies. Students have opportunities to develop their investigative skills and use analytical thinking to explain and predict physical phenomena. Students plan and conduct investigations to answer a range of questions, collect and interpret data and observations, and communicate their findings in an appropriate format. Problem-solving and using evidence to make and justify conclusions are transferable skills that are developed in this course.”
- School curriculum and Standard Authority (SCASA)
Chemistry ATAR:
“The Chemistry ATAR course equips students with the knowledge, understanding and opportunity to investigate properties and reactions of materials. Theories and models are used to describe, explain and make predictions about chemical systems, structures and properties. Students recognise hazards and make informed, balanced decisions about chemical use and sustainable resource management. Investigations and laboratory activities develop an appreciation of the need for precision, critical analysis and informed decision making.
This course prepares students to be responsible and efficient users of specialised chemical products and processes at home or in the workplace. It also enables students to relate chemistry to other sciences, including biology, geology, medicine, molecular biology and agriculture, and prepares them for further study in the sciences.”
- School curriculum and Standard Authority (SCASA)
Human Biology ATAR:
“The Human Biology ATAR course gives students a chance to explore what it is to be human—how the human body works, the origins of human variation, inheritance in humans, the evolution of the human species and population genetics. Through their investigations, students research new discoveries that increase our understanding of human dysfunction, treatments and preventative measures.
Practical tasks are an integral part of this course and develop a range of laboratory skills; for example, biotechnology techniques. Students learn to evaluate risks and benefits to make informed decisions about lifestyle and health topics, such as diet, alternative medical treatments, use of chemical substances and the manipulation of fertility.”
- School curriculum and Standard Authority (SCASA)
Biology ATAR:
“A unique appreciation of life and a better understanding of the living world are gained through studying the Biology ATAR course. This course encourages students to be analytical, to participate in problem-solving and to systematically explore fascinating and intriguing aspects of living systems, from the microscopic level through to ecosystems.
Students develop a range of practical skills and techniques through investigations and fieldwork in authentic contexts, such as marine reefs, endangered species, urban ecology, or biotechnology. Scientific evidence is used to make informed decisions about controversial issues.”
- School curriculum and Standard Authority (SCASA)
Accounting and Finance ATAR:
“The Accounting and Finance ATAR course focuses on financial literacy and aims to provide students with the knowledge, understandings and a range of skills that enables them to make sound financial judgements. Students develop an understanding that financial decisions have far reaching consequences for individuals and business. The course will provide students with the understanding of the systems and processes through which financial practices and decision making are carried out, as well as the ethical, social and environmental issues involved. Through the preparation, examination and analysis of a variety of financial documents and systems, students develop an understanding of the fundamental principles and practices upon which accounting and financial management are based. An understanding and application of these principles and practices enables students to analyse their own financial data and that of businesses and make informed decisions, forecasts of future performance, and recommendations based on that analysis.”
- School curriculum and Standard Authority (SCASA)
Economics ATAR:
“Economics explores the choices which all people, groups and societies face as they confront the ongoing problem of satisfying their unlimited wants with limited resources. The Economics ATAR course aims to develop students’ ability to analyse the allocation, utilisation and distribution of scarce resources that determine our wealth and wellbeing. The study of Economics provides a framework for examining society’s issues and identifying possible solutions which assist decision making. The emphasis of the course is on the Australian economy.”
- School curriculum and Standard Authority (SCASA)