‘An absolute crime’: The plan to expand HSC subject choice for public schools

Sydney’s public high school students will be given more subject choice in the Higher School Certificate from next year after the government granted them permission to enrol in an online virtual school previously restricted to regional and rural students.

The HSC Subject Guarantee policy will benefit students whose school doesn’t offer subjects including chemistry, physics, science extension and economics. It will also give students access to subjects they were previously locked out of due to timetabling constraints.

Students from Newcastle and Wollongong will also be able to access a suite of academically rigorous courses including English advanced, English extension 1, English extension 2, mathematics advanced, mathematics extension 1, mathematics extension 2 and history extension.

NSW Education Minister Prue Car said every public school student should be able to choose subjects they were passionate about, regardless of their postcode.

“That’s why the Minns Labor Government is expanding access to advanced and extension HSC subjects, ensuring all students can reach their full potential at school,” she said.

Science education consultant Simon Crook, who works with public, private and Catholic schools, said it was “an absolute crime” that students could not access higher level subjects at some schools.

“There are a whole load of subjects lacking specialist teachers. Very often schools can’t run these subjects, or they put non-specialist teachers in front of the students,” he said.

Science Teachers Association of NSW councillor Catriona Chaikin said for schools it was “getting harder and harder to get science teachers” and the move was a “positive step” in getting more students into academically rigorous subjects.

Year 12 student Sree Nair was initially sceptical of enrolling in economics virtually at Aurora College from Temora High in the NSW Riverina, after months of learning online during the pandemic.

“It actually feels like a normal classroom,” she said.

She sits at a desk in the library and watches the teacher with five students in other schools across the state.

“Everyone’s very present, and engaging a lot. The teacher makes sure that we are understanding, so it doesn’t really feel that different.”

Gymea Technology High School principal Peter Marsh said his school already ran HSC subjects with tiny cohorts in a bid to stretch and provide academic choice. The online option would be an extension of that.

“It’s important to support those kids with those high aspirations. And it is common for our schools to run them with very small cohorts,” he said.

Students already study languages online at the school he said, which had worked well and was managed by the school.

“We work closely with those kids so they’re not really off on their own. That’s a recipe for disaster for kids,” he said.

Gymea Year 10 student Charlotte Patterson is contemplating studying biology, economics, chemistry and physics but there is a possibility of a timetabling clash with science extension.

“Being able to do science extension as well as economics will be beneficial for the way I want to go in life,” she said.

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