We offer a variety of study options to ensure all individual needs are catered for. Over the final years, students can complete a pathway to further study or employment. All students from 2023 will now be enrolled in the VCE. Students will have the option to have a Vocational Major. VCE can include VET pathways, however, the Vocational Major must include a VET pathway. By using the flexibility that exists in the later year’s curriculum, it is possible for students to tailor a course that best meets the needs of their personalised learning pathway.
Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE)
The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is a qualification designed for students in Years 11 and 12 that is recognised around the world. It is a valuable pathway to university study, Technical and Further Education (TAFE) and the world of work. It is also possible to do a vocational certificate (VCE VET) or a school-based apprenticeship (SBA) or traineeship within the VCE.
The VCE program is a set of units that are completed over a 2 to 3-year period. Each study consists of units 1-4, with units 1 & 2 usually completed at year 11 and units 3 & 4 at year 12. There is some flexibility to this standard that will be explained in more detail throughout this handbook.
Mary MacKillop College offers a wide range of subjects and can tailor a VCE program to match student interests and career aspirations.
VCE Mary MacKillop currently offers the following subjects covering Units 1-4 of the VCE.
VCE and VET units offered:
Compulsory: Religious Education and English or Literature
- Agriculture and Horticultural Studies
- Art – Creative Practice
- Biology
- Business Management
- Chemistry
- Economics
- English
- Environmental Science
- Food Studies
- Geography
- Health and Human Development
- History – Modern History Units 1 and 2
- History – Revolutions Units 3 and 4
- Legal Studies
- Literature
- Mathematics – General Mathematics
- Mathematics – Mathematical Methods
- Mathematics – Specialist Mathematics
- Media Studies
- Physical Education
- Physics Units
- Product Design & Technology
- Psychology
- Theatre Studies
- Visual Communication Design
- Certificate II in Apparel, Fashion and Textiles
- VCE VET Certificate II Building and Construction (22338VIC)
- VCE VET Certificate III Music Performance (CUA30920)
- VCE VET Certificate III in Sport & Recreation (SIS30115)
- VCE VET Certificate III Music Performance (CUA30920)
VCE – Vocational Major
The VCE Vocational Major (VM) is a vocational and applied learning program within the VCE designed to be completed over a minimum of two years. The VCE VM will give students greater choice and flexibility to pursue their strengths and interests and develop the skills and capabilities needed to succeed in further education, work and life.
It prepares students to move into apprenticeships, traineeships, further education and training, university (via non-ATAR pathways) or directly into the workforce.
The purpose of the VCE VM is to provide students with the best opportunity to achieve their personal goals and aspirations in a rapidly changing world by:
- equipping them with the skills, knowledge, values and capabilities to be active and informed citizens, lifelong learners and confident and creative individuals
- empowering them to make informed decisions about the next stages of their lives through real-life workplace experiences.
Vocational Education and Training (VET) in the VCE & VCE Vocational Major
In senior secondary years, students can choose to complete a VET program as part of their VCE or VCAL. There are a number of VET programs from which students can choose, which can contribute towards a student’s satisfactory completion of the VCE or VCAL, and which give the students a nationally recognized vocational qualification. VCE VET programs provide students with pathways to university, TAFE, further training and the workplace and include job training such as music, agriculture, building and construction, multimedia, business, engineering and other fields.