Western Australian Curriculum
The Pre-Primary to Year 10 Western Australian Curriculum provides a coherent and comprehensive set of prescribed content and achievement standards, which schools use to plan student learning programs, assess student progress and report to parents.
Catholic primary schools in Western Australia provide quality teaching and learning programs to ensure that each child’s needs are met and their gifts and talents are developed.
This personalised approach promotes community engagement, while developing positive well-adjusted students who have the skills and knowledge to actively contribute to their ever-changing world.
Students develop and learn at different rates and diverse learning needs are addressed within each classroom and supported by a variety of intervention, extension and co-curricular programs. For the many programs on offer such as Reading Recovery, EMU and Brightpath go to the individual school website.
The Western Australian Curriculum currently encompasses the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority’s Australian Curriculum English, Science and Mathematics. In addition syllabuses for Humanities and Social Sciences, Health and Physical Education, Technologies, Languages and The Arts have been implemented. The Arts and Languages remain broadly consistent with the Australian curriculum but have been contextualised to make them more suitable for Western Australian students and teachers.
Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE)
The Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) caters for all students, whether they plan to work, train or study at university. Students in Western Australia receive the WACE (Year 12) on successful completion of their senior secondary schooling. To cater for differences in interests, rates of learning and motivation, schools can consider a mixture of courses, vocational education and training (VET) and endorsed programs when planning student pathways. The WACE is recognised nationally in the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), by universities and other tertiary institutions, TAFE, industry and training providers.
There are 52 courses available. Courses are grouped into List A (Arts, Languages and Social Sciences) and List B (Mathematics, Science and Technology). Religion and Life is a List A course. Each course enables students to select programs which best suit their requirements. This includes students with special educational needs who can achieve the WACE through the Preliminary courses and the ABLEWA curriculum.
VET Industry Specific courses are no longer referred to as a subset of the General courses they are now a WACE course type. There are 10 VET Industry Specific courses students can select to meet the WACE requirements. Students must participate in the Endorsed Program Workplace Learning within the industry area being studied. Whilst still being a VET certificate they are treated as a course when issuing the WACE.
The Western Australian Statement of student Achievement (WASSA) is issued to all Year 12 students at the completion of their secondary schooling. The WASSA provides a formal record of what students leaving in year 12 have achieved as a result of their secondary school education in Western Australia.
Vocational Education and Training (VET)
Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VET) Certificates and Endorsed Programs are available as alternate pathways for students wishing to achieve their WACE.
School-based Traineeships (SBT) and School-based Apprenticeships (SBA) programs provide secondary school students to work and train in a qualification while they are still at school and meet their WACE requirements.