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Students in Years 11-12 have the opportunity to complete 3 different pathways:
Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE)
Students in Years 11-12 have the opportunity to complete a scored or non-scored VCE certificate. students in Years 11-12 have the following subject breakdown:
Year 11-12 | Periods | Minutes per fortnight |
English selection* | 10 | 500 |
VCE subject 2 | 10 | 500 |
VCE subject 3 | 10 | 500 |
VCE subject 4 | 10 | 500 |
VCE subject 5 | 10 | 500 |
School Based RE** | 4 | 200 |
SEL | 1 | 50 |
Pastoral | 1 | 50 |
English Selection
At the VCE level students must study at least one English-based subject. The following subjects count as English-based subjects:
Religious Education
Across the two years of Year 10 and Year 11, students will study the Unit 1 and Unit 2 portions of the VCE Religion and Society course, and this qualification, if passed satisfactorily, shall appear on the VCAA Statement of Results.
Year 10 students who show ability and effort, and a capacity to accelerate at a higher level, shall be invited to apply to study Unit 3 & 4 Religion and Society when in Year 11 which will provide an additional subject to their five studied in Year 12, a real boost to their ATAR.
A select few shall be able to study Unit 3 & 4 Religion and Society alongside another Unit 3 & 4 subject in Year 11, affording them additional study time in Year 12 to focus on their remaining four subjects.
VCE Subject Selection
Students at St Bernard’s College have the opportunity to study a range of subjects across the VCE Curriculum. St Bernard’s College is committed to offering as many subjects as possible to maximise student choice. In 2023, 42 different subjects were offered to students completing their VCE.
Vocational Education and Training (VET)
VET subjects in the VCE and VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM) allow students to combine areas of interest and vocational studies, exploring career options and pathways as they learn.
Students gain a nationally recognised qualification or credit towards a qualification that contributes to the VCE and VCE VM - all while developing skills that equip them for the workforce and further study.
VET subjects can be offered onsite at school. However, many are offered externally (offsite) by TAFEs and Registered Training Organisations.
The VET subjects offered onsite at St Bernard’s are:
Typically, offsite VET subjects can cover trade areas such as Building and Construction, Plumbing and Electrical. Non-trade offsite VET subjects can cover areas as broad as Animal Studies, Games Design, Fashion and Equine Studies. External Training Providers used by St Bernard’s include KANGAN Institute, Victoria University Polytechnic, Apprenticeship Group Australia (AGA) and the Academy of Interactive Entertainment (AIE).
You can learn more about VET by visiting:
Pages - VCE VET programs (vcaa.vic.edu.au)
Pages - Get VET (vcaa.vic.edu.au)
VCE Vocational Major (VCE VM)
The VCE Vocational Major is a vocational and applied learning program within the VCE. Students will complete the VCE Vocational Major over Years 11 and 12. The VCE VM gives students choice and flexibility to pursue areas of interest and their strengths, whilst developing skills to succeed in further education, the workplace and as members of society.
Through the VM course students have opportunities to achieve their personal and career goals through their subjects:
Students undertaking the VCE VM are on campus at St Bernard’s three days a week, complete a VET study aligned to their personal or career aspirations one day a week and undertake Structured Workplace Learning (SWL) one day a week.
SWL is vital in empowering them to make informed decisions about the next stages of their lives through real-life workplace experiences. The VCE VM also includes community engagement opportunities that equip our young men with the skills, knowledge, values and capabilities to be active and informed citizens, lifelong learners and confident and creative individuals.
The VCE Vocational Major prepares students to move into apprenticeships, traineeships, further education and training, university (via non-ATAR pathways) or directly into the workforce upon successful completion.
SBC Baccalaureate
The College, in partnership with RMIT, provides students the opportunity to integrate the VCE Year 12 certificate with an RMIT course. Designed to give students the skills, organisational processes, and institutional knowledge to enable them to move into an RMIT Diploma course and, on successful completion of their diploma, an undergraduate University course.
During Year 12, students are fully-fledged members of the St Bernard’s community, taking part in College extracurricular activities such as sport, drama, music, camps, and all liturgical and social celebrations that come as part of their final year of secondary education. Alongside their VCE courses, which they will complete as non-scored students, they attend RMIT for two days per week and complete a Certificate IV in Tertiary Preparation, allowing them to move straight into an RMIT diploma course applicable to their Baccalaureate stream. For logistical reasons, the VCE aspect of the program will be a package deal, with students undertaking English Units 3 & 4, an additional VCE subject and a VET Certificate III in either VET Business, Certificate III in VET Sport and Recreation or the final year of an external VET subject.
