South Australian Certificate of Education The final two years of Secondary or High School in South Australia are called Year 11 and Year 12. Students complete a high school certificate called "South Australian Certificate of Education" (SACE), a nationally and internationally recognised qualification for entry to university. The SACE is studied over two or more years. The first year is usually Stage 1 (Year 11) and the second year is usually Stage 2 (Year 12). Assessment To gain SACE a student must successfully complete 22 units of study: 12 at Stage 1 level and 10 at Stage 2 level. A unit is one semester or half a year's work. A student must also pass a literacy test in English. University/TAFE Entrance All students must compete for entrance to University or TAFE places on the basis of their final scores for Stage 2 units. The higher the score, the better their chance of gaining entrance to the course of their choice. All Year 12 students are given a "Tertiary Entrance Ranking" (TER) based on their total scaled final marks for Year 12. It is therefore important that students do units in which they can achieve their best. Only some university courses (eg science, engineering) have certain subject requirements. Many courses only require a good score at Stage 2 level (such as Accounting, Economics etc). The SACE is a demanding two years and students often feel increasing pressure towards the end of Stage 2. Students who have regular and consistent study habits usually do well. Students also need positive encouragement from parents and family. Seymour College endeavours to support students through these years by providing high level teaching practice, encouragement and guidance of students in their choice of subjects.   RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE