Year 13 Subject Selection (Current Year 12)

YEAR 13

How to Select a Subject on SchoolPoint

Use the left-hand navigation bar to select 'Subjects to Select'.

Click on the Learning Area you wish to see, click on the course you wish to take, then click the button "Select as one of my Subjects"

Students are encouraged to choose an additional back-up subject.

Students may see what they have chosen by clicking on "View Selected Subjects".

ACADEMIC PROGRAMME

Year 13 students may choose five subjects, with a study, or six subjects with no study (not recommended). Most courses will generate credit towards the NCEA Certificate Level 3.

The subjects chosen may be taken at any level, but you must ensure you meet the prerequisites for studying your chosen subjects. It is to a student’s advantage to work hard to achieve the best possible results.

Scholarships can be gained in individual subjects for a very high level of achievement. NZQA run separate Scholarship examinations at the end of the year.

Students will be required to attend Course Enrolment Day prior to the beginning of Term 1, if Course changes are necessary for due to NOT meeting prerequisites for their chosen subjects.

NCEA Level 3

For a student to be awarded NCEA Level 3, they must achieve:

·       60 credits are Level 3 or above; plus

·       20 credits at Level 2 or above

·      Co-requisites for literacy and numeracy

CERTIFICATE ENDORSEMENTS

Students are able to gain NCEA certificates endorsed with Merit or Excellence. A student who has gained 50 credits at Merit and/or Excellence level will qualify for the respective endorsement.

 A course endorsement provides recognition for a student who has performed exceptionally well in an individual course. The key objective of a course endorsement is to motivate students to achieve their potential in one or more courses.

Students will gain an endorsement for a course if, in a single school year, they achieve :

·       14 or more credits at Merit and/or Excellence

·       at least 3 of these credits from externally assessed standards and 3 credits from internally assessed standards (with the exception of some subjects such as Visual Arts, Religious Studies or Physical Education, which are only internally assessed)

UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS

University Entrance (UE) requirement. Students will need ALL of the following to be awarded UE:

·       Attain NCEA Level 3 (60 L3 credits + 20 from any other Level)

·       Achieve 14 credits at Level Three in each of three subjects from the list of approved subjects. The list of approved subjects will consist of subjects derived from the New Zealand Curriculum with achievement standards at Level 3

·       Achieve UE numeracy - 10 credits at Level 1 and above from specific achievement standards, or three specific numeracy unit standards or three specific numeracy unit standards

·       Achieve UE literacy - 10 credits (five in reading and five in writing) at Level 2 and above from specific standards.

NCEA Level 3: Students will need to attain NCEA Level 3. Three of their subjects must be on the list of approved subjects, in each of which they need to achieve at least 14 credits. Any remaining credits from Level 3 or higher that they need in order to gain their Level 3 NCEA can come from any field, subfield or domain. This means that credits from unit standard-based subjects can contribute to UE through this requirement.

Numeracy

The UE numeracy is the same as the NCEA co-requisite numeracy requirement.

Literacy

Students in Year 12 may meet their UE literacy requirement through a range of Level 2 or Level 3 standards. These standards are clearly identified in the course information later.

You MUST gain 5 credits in ‘Reading’ AND 5 credits in ‘Writing’. Some standards are Reading, some are Writing, and some are both. If the standard is designated as both Reading and Writing, then the credits for that standard can be split, but NOT used twice.

Subjects at Level 2 where UEL credits can be gained are – English, Classical Studies, Drama, Economics, Geography, History, Nutrition & Health, Mathematics and Statistics.

Subjects at Level 3 where UEL credits can be gained are – Accounting, Agriculture and Horticultural Science, Biology, Classical Studies, Drama, Earth and Space Science, Economics, English, Geography, Health, History, Health, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics, Sport Science.

In addition to the minimum requirement, many universities have introduced an entry restriction for their courses. This was based on the quality of grades gained at Level 3 in ‘approved’ university subjects. Taking a student’s best 80 credits in any approved subject, they generate point totals with - 4 for Excellence / 3 for Merit / 2 for Achieved. (The maximum total a student could gain therefore was 320 points – 80 credits, all at Excellence)

Students therefore need to select their Level 3 subjects with care, giving themselves the best possible chance of scoring well in this ‘ranking’ process.

Subjects from the university APPROVED list offered by Bethlehem College:

·       Accounting

·       Agriculture and Horticultural Science

·       Biology

·       Chemistry

·       Christian Studies

·       Classical Studies

·       Computing

·       Design and Visual Communications

·       Drama

·       Economics

·       English

·       French

·       Geography

·       Health

·       History

·       Materials Technology

·       Mathematics with Calculus

·       Mathematics with Statistics

·       Music Studies

·       Physics

·       Earth Space Science

·       Sports Science/Outdoor Ed

·       Statistics and Probability

·       Textile Technology

·       Te Reo Maori

·       Visual Art – Art Design

·       Visual Art – Painting

·       Visual Art – Photography

Subjects from the NZQA DOMAIN lists offered by Bethlehem College

·       Early Childhood Education

·       Sound Production

·       Tourism

·       Hospitality

·       Gateway

All credits gained in these subjects DO count towards a Level 3 certificate and the initial university entrance requirement, but do NOT count towards the point totals process outlined above. It is important to check the entry requirements carefully for every tertiary course.

Some providers have further specific entry requirements and you must meet these requirements for the particular course of your choice. Check your chosen tertiary provider’s prospectus or go online to see their entry requirements. See transition staff for general/specific entry criteria.

All universities and polytechnics have similar sites e.g. university name. ac.nz, e.g. www.waikato.ac.nz or www.toiohomai.ac.nz

NZQA Webpage For further NCEA information, please look at the NZQA website: www.nzqa.govt.nz