CHOOSING A COURSE OF STUDY
All students will be offered Course Advice and/or Career Education by the following people prior to or during the time period necessary for completing the enclosed Subject Choice Form, as appropriate.
• SUBJECT TEACHER
• VERTICAL FORM TEACHER
• YEAR LEVEL DEAN
• CAREERS ADVISOR
• PARENTS/CAREGIVERS
• OUTSIDE EXPERTS
YOU NEED TO CONSIDER . . .
ABILITY INTEREST OCCUPATION SUBJECT CHOICE
Research shows that the two main influences on subject choice are
# What subjects your friends are taking
# Who is teaching a particular subject
NEITHER OF THESE SHOULD INFLUENCE YOUR SUBJECT CHOICE!
Your friends may NOT be in the same class as you next year even if you take the same subjects, and no one yet knows who will be teaching any subjects next year so CONCENTRATE ON WHAT YOU NEED FOR YOUR FUTURE.
MULTI-LEVEL STUDY
NOTE:
Multi Level Study means that a student can study ANY subject at ANY level provided subjects are available.
e.g. Jim Student may choose:
Year 9 - Maori
Year 10 - Graphics Jim Student could be a
Year 11 - English Year 11, 12 or 13 Student!!
Year 11 - Mathematics
Year 11 - Geography
Year 12 - Biology
CAREERS ADVICE
The purpose of the careers advisor is to facilitate subject, course, career and further education decisions in conjunction with the student, his Dean and his Parents/Caregivers. Advice can be sought by making an appointment or by reading the literature supplied outside of the Careers Centre. During the year, in conjunction with the year level Dean, the Careers Advisor will interview all Yr 10 - Year 13 students in an effort to establish some action plan(s) that will enable that student to make informed choices.
Further career advice can be sought from your year level dean and your vertical form teacher. Careers as a topic will also be covered at each year level in PE/Health (Yr 10) and in Study Blocks.
ENGLISH FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES (ESOL)
Ms McCarthy is the HOD of the ESOL Department and through her, ESOL assistance is available to international students. Individual student needs are assessed within the department and appropriate programmes recommended.
The course concentrates on:
- Communicative language skills for elementary, intermediate and advanced students. Both oral (speaking and listening) and written (reading and writing) skills are developed
- Academic language to assist students in core mainstream classes
- The New Zealand way of life and cultural activities are emphasised through reading, discussion and outside of school experiences
- National recognised ESOL Unit Standards for Year 11 ESOL students will be offered. This course will give students the opportunity to gain credits that contribute to NCEA.
- Preparation for IELTS for advanced ESOL senior students.
QUALIFICATIONS IN THE SENIOR SCHOOL
National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA)
HOW DOES NCEA WORK?
To get your Level One NCEA Certificate, you must get at least 80 NCEA credits. There are two ways that you can get credits:
- Achievement Standards
- Unit Standards
The subjects you choose for next year will offer either Achievement Standards or Unit Standards, or a combination of both.
Most subjects offer between 16 and 30 credits for a year’s work.
Each Achievement Standard and each Unit Standard that you pass earns you some credits (some are worth more than others – usually between 2 and 6 credits each).
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ACHIEVEMENT STANDARDS AND UNIT STANDARDS?
- Unit Standards are all internally assessed.
- Some Achievement Standards are internally assessed, however many are externally assessed – usually by an end-of-year exam.
- Almost all Unit Standards are pass or fail, with no other grades available.
- Achievement Standards have 3 levels of ‘pass’ – Achieved, Achieved with Merit and Achieved with Excellence. You get the same number of NCEA credits for an Achieved pass as you do for a Merit or Excellence pass.
ASSESSMENT:
- Some standards are internally assessed (your teacher marks your work), and some are externally assessed (your work is marked by someone from outside the school).
- In most subjects, external assessment involves you sitting NCEA exams at the end of the year. In some subjects, external assessment means your work project work is sent off to be assessed by someone from outside the school.
- You should keep a record of all your internally assessed grades throughout the year – so you can check that your final results sheet is correct.
HOW TO GET AN NCEA CERTIFICATE
To be awarded NCEA Level 1 you must achieve 80 credits. Of these, eight credits must be in literacy standards (reading and writing in English or Maori) and eight credits in numeracy (maths) standards.
To be awarded NCEA Level 2 you need:
- 60 credits at level 2 or above; plus
- 20 credits at any level, even if gained for any other National Qualification.
There are no literacy or numeracy requirements for this qualification
To be awarded NCEA Level 3, you must achieve:
- 60 credits at level 3 or above; plus
- 20 credits at level 2 or above, even if gained for any other National Qualification.
CAN I GET MY NCEA CERTIFICATE WITH MERIT OR EXCELLENCE?
Yes, from 2007 on, students can get their Level one, two or three certificates ‘endorsed’ with Merit or Excellence – if they have done well enough.
Endorsement with Merit
For a certificate to be endorsed with Merit, 50 credits at Merit or Excellence will be required at the same level, or higher, on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) as the certificate being awarded.
Endorsement with Excellence
For a certificate to be endorsed with Excellence, 50 credits at Excellence will be required at the same level, or higher, on the NQF as the certificate being awarded.
HOW SHOULD I CHOOSE A COURSE OF STUDY NEXT YEAR?
Choose subjects that you are good at, and that will lead to the careers you are interested in. Your overall course should include about 100 to 120 credits – that way you have a good chance of passing 80 credits. Remember that you need to pass 80 credits to get your Level 1 NCEA Certificate.
WHAT IF I DON’T GET 80 CREDITS?
If you don’t get enough credits to get your Level One Certificate (or your Level 2 or 3 Certificate) in one year, you can use credits that you gain the next year. The credits from different years can be added together.
NOTE: Many of the Year 12 and 13 subjects at GBHS have ‘pre-requisite’ standards that you must have passed the previous year before you will be allowed to continue with the subject. It is important to check the pre-requisites for the year 12 and 13 subjects you might want to take. Then make sure you pass them.
ENTRANCE TO UNIVERSITY
With the advent of NCEA, University Entrance has become a lot more flexible. Many tertiary courses of study have specific requirements. These requirements may relate to the actual achievement standards, the level of achievement (e.g. merit or better) and the number and level of credits.
With this in mind it would be most useful for prospective university applicants to visit the university web sites to determine entry qualifications.
| Institution | Also known as . . . | Address |
| Auckland University of Technology | AUT | www.aut.ac.nz |
| Lincoln University | Lincoln | www.lincoln.ac.nz |
| Massey University | Massey | www.massey.ac.nz |
| University of Auckland | www.auckland.ac.nz | |
| University of Canterbury | UC | www.canterbury.ac.nz |
| University of Otago | Otago | www.otago.ac.nz |
| University of Waikato | Waikato | www.waikato.ac.nz |
| Victoria University of Wellington | Victoria | www.vuw.ac.nz |