To gain the SACE, students complete about two years of full-time study which many students spread over three years.
There are two stages to the SACE:
Achieving the SACE
Stage One
Most students do in Year 11, apart from Exploring Identities and Futures, which most students are likely to do in Year 10.
Stage Two
Most students do in Year 12.
Each subject or course successfully completed earns ‘credits’ towards the SACE. At least 200 credits are required for students to gain the certificate. Ten credits are equal to one semester, or two terms, of study in a subject, and 20 credits are equal to a full-year subject. Students will receive a grade from A to E (A+ to E- at Stage 2) for each Subject. For Compulsory Subjects, they will need to achieve a C grade or better.
The compulsory subjects are:
- Literacy – at least 20 credits from a range of English subjects (Stage 1).
- Exploring Identities and Futures (10 credits at Stage 1)
- Numeracy – at least 10 credits from a range of Mathematics subjects (Stage 1).
- Activating Identities and Futures (Previously the Research Project) – an in-depth major project (10 credits at Stage 2).
- Other Stage 2 subjects totalling at least 60 credits.
The remaining 90 credits can be gained through additional Stage 1 or Stage 2 subjects or Board recognised courses of a student’s choice.
The Table below shows how the SACE fits together.
