1. Westlake Girls High School Course Planning Information Years 11 and 12 August 2015

2. Academic goals for 2015 What do you want to achieve from your next year at school? The final 2 years of school are very important to your planning for higher education and/or future career choices

3. PRE-REQUISITES These are entry requirements for a courses at higher levels. Read carefully, if you don’t meet these requirements you will not be able to take the subject. They are NOT the same for all subjects. Check the course booklet

4. Restricted entry courses at university –what subjects may I need to consider taking in year 13? This may determine my choices for Year 12 Thinking Ahead

5. How do I know if I have chosen the right subjects? This is not an easy question to answer. There are no right or wrong subjects individually but which subjects will work together towards a goal is an important consideration Thinking Ahead

6. Thinking Ahead - Picking up Subjects Studying subjects at level 3 is demanding. (so is level 2) Do not plan to pick up more than one new subject at level 3. Therefore your course for 2016 (and 2017) needs to be thought through carefully.

7. Thinking Ahead - Year 12 Students Do not choose too many subjects at year 12 that do not follow on to year 13 “approved subjects” this is very important if you are planning to attend university in 2017 or 2018.

8. Course confirmation

9. 2016 - Qualifications NCEA – Level 1 (for students who may not gain this in 2015) NCEA – Level 2 (Year 12 students) NCEA – Level 3 (Year 13 students) University Entrance – Year 13 Year 13 students may also need to consider what rank score they require for certain University courses

10. NCEA Outline Full course details can be found in our curriculum handbook www.westlakegirls.school.nz

11. Certificate Endorsements To gain any NCEA certificate with Excellence you need at least 50 credits at excellence To gain any NCEA certificate with Merit you need at least 50 credits at Merit or higher

12. Course Endorsements Students will gain an endorsement for a course where they achieve: 14 or more credits at Merit or Excellence at the lower level that supports the endorsement at least 3 credits from externally assessed standards and 3 credits from internally* assessed standards sufficient credits in a single school year. *Physed and Level 3 Visual Arts are exempt

13. There are other qualifications that you may begin or continue to gain credits for, also. E.g National Certificates in Travel, Computing, Business Admin, Hospitality, Mathematics, Employment Skills,etc.

14. 10 credits in Mathematics/Numeracy at Level 1 or higher 5 credits at Level 2 or above in Reading 5 credits at Level 2 or above in Writing Level 3 NCEA Note that these requirements are the absolute minimum and may not be enough for some University courses University Entrance Standard 14 credits at level 3 or higher in an ‘approved subject’ area 14 credits at level 3 or higher in an ‘approved subject’ area 14 credits at level 3 or higher in an ‘approved subject’ area

15. Approved Subjects for UE The full list is available in the option book on our website. Think about the subjects you need to carry on with for Year 13

16. University Entry – Rank Scores Most universities now have restricted entry to many courses Students will be allocated a rank score based on their 80 best credits at level 3 or higher over a maximum of 5 approved subjects.

17. University Entry – Rank Scores A rank score is calculated from the best 80 credits at level 3. A maximum of 24 credits from each subject can be included Achieved = 2 Merit = 3 Excellence = 4

18. Rank Scores - an example Approved subject Excellence Credits Merit Credits Achieved Credits English866 History0610 Statistics4416 Geography010 French0024 subtotals122666 Best 80 credits122642 Points calculated12 x 426 x 342 x 2 Rank Score210

19. Advice to Students from Auckland University “ You are encouraged to do your best in your high school studies to ensure your application is competitive as possible.”

20. Subject Requirements for Degrees (Auckland University) Some Degrees require students to meet certain subject requirements for entry into courses. e.g. Bachelor of Health Sciences currently requires 250 points from NCEA and a minimum of 18 credits in one subject from Table A and a minimum of 18 credits in one subject from Table B Note that this is just one example of increased course requirements and these may increase further for 2017 and 2018 – other universities may have different requirements

21. Subject Requirements for Degrees (Auckland University) Table ATable B Classical StudiesAccounting EnglishBiology GeographyChemistry HistoryEconomics History of ArtMathematics or Calculus or Statistics Te Reo Maori or Te Reo Rangatira Physics

22. Scholarship in Year 13 An extra examination for very high performing students in each subject. If you are achieving at excellence level in most standards for a subject you should be entering the NZ Scholarship examination in that subject. Top 3% (approx) in each cohort may reach scholarship standard.

23. Scholarship in Year 13 Extra tuition for Scholarship may be through tutoring at lunchtime or after school or extension assignments Practical subjects (Art, Graphics & Technology) – students submit their portfolios for both NCEA and Scholarship See list of scholarship subjects in the course booklet More information on this next year

24. Additional information Have you checked your NCEA entries on the NZQA website? Go to www.nzqa.govt.nz then on the right hand side you will see “LOGIN”www.nzqa.govt.nz This is where you visit to check your entries and internal results so far – and later in January your external results

25. NZQA Examination Fees Ensure that you have paid your NZQA fees to the payments office or the school website ($76.70) so that we can pass this payment onto NZQA Otherwise late fee payments ($76.70 + $50) must be made directly to NZQA after early September

26. Important links www.westlakegirls.school.nz Look under “Curriculum” for course information.