Year 10
Subject Selection
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Year 10 Subject Selection
Subject selection marks the beginning of your senior school journey. It’s your opportunity to take control of your learning, explore your interests, and shape the path that will lead you through Year 11, Year 12 … and beyond.
This isn’t just about picking classes. It’s about thinking ahead, understanding yourself, and choosing a mix of subjects that will keep doors open for future study, training, or work.
Whether you're aiming for university, TAFE, a gap year, or you’re still figuring things out, your subject choices can play a big role in building your confidence and setting you up for success.
What am I good at?
Choose subjects that suit your natural strengths. If you’ve done well in a subject before, that’s a great sign it might be a good fit for senior school.
Subject selection isn’t about ticking boxes or chasing the perfect ATAR.
It’s about choosing subjects that align with your strengths, interests, and style of learning — and setting the foundation for what comes next.
Whether you’re aiming for uni, TAFE, work, or still figuring it all out, the subjects you choose now can help shape your confidence, motivation, and career clarity.
Our wish is that you spend the next two years doing subjects you care about, learning things that matter to you, and discovering what you’re capable of.
Why Subject Selection Matters
It influences your HSC experience and the skills you develop along the way.
It can impact your ATAR eligibility and university prerequisites.
It’s your chance to lean into your strengths and challenge yourself in meaningful ways.
It lays the foundation for your LEAVERS Passport - the real-world experiences you’ll collect before leaving school.
Seven Big Things We Want You to Know
1. Choose what you're good at
Use your track record. Subjects you’ve done well in so far are a strong foundation.
2. Choose what you're interested in
You don’t need to have a plan set in stone — but following your interests is always a good guide.
3. Think about the type of work
Do you prefer major projects? Research assignments? Exams? Group work? Creative tasks?
4. Talk to teachers and students
Get the inside story. Teachers will outline the structure — but students will tell you what it really feels like.
5. Don’t panic about changing direction
Bridging courses exist (e.g. Physics, Chemistry, Maths). Even if you miss a subject, there are ways to catch up, and alternate pathways to reach your goals.
6. Build your LEAVERS Pass
Use your time in senior school to build your experiences, reflect on your growth, and prepare for real-world applications.
7. You’re allowed to enjoy this
You’re going to spend 200+ hours on each subject - choose subjects that excite you! It makes those long study sessions a whole lot more interesting.
Making Good Decisions About Your Subjects
(Even When You Don’t Have It All Figured Out)
Subject selection isn’t just about what you think you should choose, it’s about making the kind of decision that feels right for you at this point in time.
Big decisions often don’t have one “correct” answer. They sit in that awkward grey zone where more than one option is valid. You might feel unsure, conflicted, even a little overwhelmed — and that’s okay. Because here’s the truth:
Good decisions aren’t made from pressure. They’re made from process.
So if you’re stuck or stressed, try stepping back and asking: “What’s the worst that could happen?'“
How to Make Hard Choices – TED Talk by Ruth Chang
How can I apply this?
When picking Year 11 and 12 subjects, many of you will face choices that are on a par - say between a creative subject you love and a more practical one your parents recommend. That tension isn’t a sign of weakness or indecision—it’s a sign you’re weighing what matters.
Use Chang’s advice to:
Shift from “What’s objectively best?” to “What matters most to me—and who do I want to be?”
Embrace that some choices can’t be reduced to pros/cons.
Use uncertainty as an invitation to define yourself, not to freeze.
What do I enjoy?
Pick subjects you genuinely like. You’ll be spending a lot of time on them—so make sure they’re ones that spark your interest and motivation.
School Work Preference?
Do you like creative tasks, hands-on projects, written assignments, or research and analysis? Understanding the style of learning can help you choose wisely.
After school?
You don’t need to have it all figured out, but if you have a few ideas, check if those pathways require specific subjects—or if they benefit from particular skills (e.g. writing, problem solving, collaboration).
Subject Selection Recap
“How do you want to spend the next two years?”
Introducing: The LEAVERS Passport
The Caringbah LEAVERS Passport is your blueprint for building a meaningful, real-world resume in high school, not just for ATARs, but for scholarships, early entry, cadetships, and clarity.
LEAVERS stands for:
L – Leadership
E – Extra-curricular
A – Academic Enrichment & Achievement
V – Volunteering & Community Contribution
E – Employment & Work Experience
R – Relevant Industry Experience
S – Student-Led Projects
Each student will have the opportunity to track and reflect on these categories in their own digital portfolio (aka The Filing Cabinet), and we’ll be guiding this throughout Years 10–12.
2025
The University Stuff
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Understanding University
Thinking About University? Start Here.
Subject selection isn’t just about surviving the HSC, it’s also about setting yourself up for what comes next.
If you’re considering university after school, it’s important to understand how your subject choices in Year 11 and 12 can impact future study options.
Some degrees have prerequisites (subjects you must have studied in school), others list assumed knowledge (what they expect you to already know), and many have recommended subjects that can help you thrive in the first year of the course.
The good news? There are often bridging courses or alternate entry pathways to get you on a new track if needed.
Pre-requisites, Assumed Knowledge & Recommended Studies
What’s the difference between prerequisites and assumed knowledge?
(and why it actually matters when picking your subjects)
When you’re looking ahead to university pathways using the UAC Guide (or course search tools like Course Compass), you’ll often come across three different terms:
1. Prerequisites
These are non-negotiable.
If a course has a prerequisite, it means you must have studied and passed a particular subject in Year 12 to even be eligible for that course
If you haven’t done it?
You won’t be considered, even if your ATAR is sky-high.
Example:
To study a Bachelor of Engineering at many NSW unis, you might need to have completed Mathematics Advanced as a minimum (and sometimes even Maths Extension 1 is strongly preferred).
Think of prerequisites as the bare minimum entry ticket to the course.
2. Assumed Knowledge
This one’s a bit softer.
Courses that list assumed knowledge don’t require you to have done the subject, but they’re warning you that the content will be taught as if you have.
You can still get into the course without it… but you might find yourself playing catch-up pretty quickly in first-year lectures or tutorials.
Example:
A Psychology degree might have Biology or Maths listed as assumed knowledge. If you didn’t study those, you’re not ruled out, but it may be a steeper learning curve.
Assumed knowledge = you’re expected to know it, but it’s not a hard rule.
3. Recommended Studies = Helpful, Not Required
These are subjects the university suggests will help you succeed in the course.
They’re not required, and they’re not assumed, you just might find the content easier and more relevant if you’ve studied them.
Think: "Nice to have in your toolkit"
Example: Communications or Media degrees often recommend English Advanced
Example: Law degrees may recommend History or Legal Studies, but don’t require them.
So what should you do with this info?
When selecting subjects, don’t just choose what sounds interesting … do your future self a favour and:
Check the UAC Guide or university websites for any prerequisites attached to courses you might want to study.
Consider whether you’d be comfortable learning something from scratch if you skip a subject that’s listed as assumed knowledge.
Reminder: You’re ranked on your best 10 units, including English. There’s no perfect subject combo … there’s just the one that’s best for you.
Prerequisite Information
Parent’s Lounge
From Kindy to Career Conversations
For those of you who joined us at Subject Selection Night, I hope, just for a moment, I took you back to when your now - Year 10 child was still in Kindy… Little backpack, big shoes, and an even bigger imagination.
They’ve come a long way, and this moment marks one of their first big independent decisions.
Choosing subjects for Year 11 and 12 is about more than timetables and scaling - it’s about beginning to build the foundations of a future that is starting to feel very real.
Your Role Has Shifted: Welcome to the Mentor Years
Right now, your child doesn’t need you to make their decisions. But they do need you for:
Calm in the chaos
Support without pressure
Confidence when they’re unsure
Reassurance that they’re on the right track (even if it’s a shaky one)
Empathy when they’re overwhelmed
This is the mentor phase of parenting - you’re still the most important voice in the room… but it sounds more like a conversation now.
The Best Support Often Comes in the Small Moments
Ask questions at the dinner table
Have deeper chats on dog walks and car rides
Introduce them to people doing interesting things professionally
Watch a TED Talk together
Let them shadow a friend, cousin, or neighbour in a job they’d never considered
You can’t be what you can’t see — and exposure is everything at this stage of life.
Be the Calm, Not the Coach
You don’t need to have all the answers. In fact, they don’t need answers - they need reflection. Let them learn. Let them make mistakes. They need someone who can sit with the uncertainty, ask good questions, and walk beside them as they work it out. They need someone who believes in their ability to learn and grow. It’s okay if they stumble … this is where resilience starts to grow.
Help Them Build a Life Resume (Not Just an Academic One)
Yes, ATARs and subject results matter. But so does the substance and the stories that shape their next two years.
Help them track their achievements
Encourage leadership, volunteering, creative projects
Let them dream a little wildly
Celebrate growth — not just results
Because at the end of Year 12, we don’t just want an academic resume. We want a life resume - full of courage, curiosity, and character. A record of choices made, opportunities taken, and experiences that shaped them.
And as I reflect on this season of decision-making, I keep thinking of my six-year-old son.
He’s in that magical stage, asking me about THAT big storm at Christmas, why the trees lose their leaves and whether Shadow is faster than Sonic (he’s not). He climbs anything he can, finds joy in the small things, and greets each day with wide eyes and endless wonder.
And it reminds me … this is where it all begins.
Your child was that wide-eyed question-asker once. They still are, in many ways… just with bigger questions now.
What should I choose? Who do I want to be? What matters to me? They’ve grown from curiosity… to big-picture thinking. And they are still growing - into their future, into themselves.
So keep walking beside them. Ask the questions. Hear their ideas. Let them dream.
The adventure continues.