Year 10 marks the beginning of the Senior Years at Trinity, and it is an important transition year. Students are required to do fewer subjects but the workload and difficulty of the subjects that they choose for their Senior Years often increases. The journey towards applying for university or choosing a career path also starts in Year 10, so decisions about future careers become a key focus. Choices and decisions about the future take centre stage this year.
Deciding on a career is a big deal, but school students really do not have to have all the answers. Some students know exactly what they want for their career path, where many more still don’t know what they should choose.
As they enter the Senior Years, they should start thinking about what really interests them. What they like learning about. What they are good at. What makes them happy. What sort of lifestyle they are hoping for. Taking everything into account is the best way to find the right course and career once they have graduated Year 12.
Our personalised pathways for learning ensure that by Year 10, we are supporting the unique talents of students, be they academic, cultural, sporting or vocational, through a dedicated path appropriate to their chosen form of education.
The strong focus on career planning, academic monitoring and guidance that starts in Year 10 ensures that each student is following a pathway that reflects their abilities and interests, whether academic, leading to Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR) and/or Vocational training.
In Year 10, students develop a Senior Education and Training (SET) plan to help them work out their post-school pathways and plan what they need to do at school to achieve their goals. Every child is different and will have a different goal depending on their interests, the type of job they want to do later in life, and their personal situation. And some students might not yet be sure what their goal is and that’s okay too. In that case it’s just about choosing school subjects or vocational education and training pathways that allow them to keep their options open. The SET planning process is broken down into various stages – firstly students (with the support of their teachers and parents) think about what type of field they might like to work in one day considering what they do and don’t like, what they find interesting and what their strengths are. The next step is all about delving deeper into potential careers and further study and training options to work out what subjects or courses will help them reach their goals. By the third stage, students should have some ideas about the type of career path they want to follow and be ready to choose a pathway for their senior years. Once a student has made their choices, the information will be recorded in their plan which they, their parents and their pastoral care teacher are required to sign. The last stage is about making sure students are comfortable with their plans, and that they have opportunities in Years 11 and 12 to review their plans to see how they are tracking and to decide if they want to change anything. Students are able to change their SET plans during their final two years of schooling and the college works with students to adjust their subjects and courses to suit their new direction.
Year 10 students also attend the Gold Coast Careers Festival which is a great opportunity for them to meet educators, local employers and training providers all under one roof. At this event they can:
- find out about studying at Griffith University, Bond University, Southern Cross University and TAFE Queensland
- visit exhibitors from a wide range of institutions to learn more about possible study options
- speak to Gold Coast employers to hear about opportunities – both current and future
- speak with a Career Advisor about their career direction, job search or they can bring their resumes along for review
- hear directly from current students on stage panels
At Trinity, we recognise how important the last few years of schooling are. Students are making decisions around not only on the subjects they study that will impact their final results, but also the life paths they want to take upon graduation. We focus on equipping them with the knowledge, values and real-world abilities they will need to move into the next stage of their life with confidence and passion, and on ensuring that they achieve their desired pathway post Year 12.
