The Changing Face of Year 12

The Matriculation (Year 12) class of 1947.

The Year 12 class of 2021.

Mother Ursula Bruton’s vision for providing secondary schooling for young women was innovative for the time. St Columba’s College has continued this spirit of innovation though the various programs and pathways offered, which support the future success of our students.

The Sisters had a great understanding of their community and their students. The College offered two learning streams, the Commercial Stream and the Academic Stream. These streams reflected the differing interests, skills and needs of students, and ran until the introduction of the Higher School Certificate (HSC). The Commercial stream was tailored to practical skills, such as typing, clerical and secretarial programs. The Academic stream, supported students who were interested in attending university and included Matriculation.

Matriculation (now Year 12) was offered to students from the beginning, with our first matriculants sitting exams in 1900 and our final Matriculant students in 1969. The Matriculant year was spent learning about and preparing for the Matriculant exams, which were necessary to enter into certain universities.

In 1931, additional certificates were introduced at earlier years. The Intermediate Certificate was offered at what is now Year 10, and the Leaving Certificate was offered at what is now Year 11.

The Intermediate Certificate acknowledged the completion of four years of secondary school and allowed students to leave after this point. Students who were interested in pursuing tertiary studies would stay on to complete their Leaving Certificate, and some would go on to their Matriculant year.

Examinations during this time, for the Intermediate, Leaving and Matriculation were held centrally. Students made their way to the Royal Exhibition Building to sit exams. The idea was to create a level playing field for all students, although many found the experience intimidating. The senior schooling years remained relatively unchanged, until 1970 when the Higher School Certificate (HSC) was introduced. The HSC replaced all previous Secondary School certificates, but was only offered to Year 12s. It also came with the introduction of school-based assessments, with the eventual move to school-based examinations in the early 1980s. By 1987, the new Victorian Certificate of Education was being trialled for Year 12s. By 1991 the certificate was expanded to include both Year 11 and 12, and subjects began to be offered as four Units taught over two years. At this stage all examinations and assessments were school-based, and in 2002 the General Achievement Test (GAT) began for Unit 3 and 4 students. The GAT, a three hour general knowledge and skills test, was introduced as a check to ensure that each school’s assessments and examinations had been accurately assessed. From 2022, the GAT will be split into two sections. The first section will assess literacy and numeracy skills, and will be completed by all Year 12 students. The second section will assess skills in mathematics, science, technology, the arts and humanities and will be completed by those Year 12 students sitting VCAA exams at the end of the year.

2002 was also the year that the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) first began. As a ‘hands-on’ pathway for Year 11 and 12 students, providing work-related experiences and placements, it was reminiscent of the original two stream approach that the Sisters introduced to St Columba’s College 100 years earlier.

The changes for our senior students will continue. From 2023, we will begin moving toward a new integrated senior secondary certificate. The new certificate will bring together VCE and VCAL and will give students the opportunity to build a program that is relevant to their skills, interests and future career aspirations.

Over 125 years, we’ve seen a great deal of change to secondary schooling and in particular the senior years. Through all this change the legacy of Mother Ursula and the Sisters of Charity to provide exceptional educational opportunities for young women continues through our dedicated team of teachers. Our future-focused and innovative spirit will keep us ahead of the curve, as we provide programs and learning experiences that will give our students the skills and support they need to be successful.