What is the SACE?

The South Australian Certificate of Education is an internationally recognised qualification which paves the way for young people to move from school to work or further training and study. The SACE has been designed to meet the needs of students, families, higher and further education providers, employers and the community. The SACE helps students develop the skills and knowledge they need to succeed – whether they are headed for further education, training, an apprenticeship, or straight into the workforce.

The certificate is based on two stages of achievement:

Stage 1 (usually completed in Year 11).
Stage 2 (usually completed in Year 12).

Students who successfully complete the requirements are awarded the SACE certificate.

How do students get the SACE?

Most students gain their SACE over three years of study.

There are two stages:

Stage 1, which most students complete in Year 11, except for Exploring Identities & Futures, which most will complete in Year 10.

Stage 2, which most students complete in Year 12.

Each subject or course successfully completed earns ‘credits’ towards the SACE, with a minimum of 200 credits required for students to gain the SACE. Students receive a grade from A to E for each subject at Stage 1, and from A+ to E- at Stage 2. To achieve the SACE, students must complete the following requirements with a C grade or higher at Stage 1 and a C- or higher for Stage 2 requirements:

Requirements	Credits
Year 10
Exploring Identities & Futures	10
Year 11 or 12 (Stage 1 or 2)
Literacy (from a range of English subjects and course)	20
Numeracy (from a range of Mathematics subjects and courses)	10
Other subjects and courses of the student's choice	90
Year 12 (Stage 2)
Research Project	10
Other Stage 2 subjects and courses*	60 or more
Total	200

*Most students will complete subjects and courses with more than 70 credits at Stage 2.

What is Exploring Identities & Futures (Formerly Personal Learning Plan)?

Exploring Identities & Futures (EIF) is desinged to assist students to recognise their individual strangths and see that the purpose and value of leaning is much more than knowledge and grades. Through the EIF students will:

• Explore identity & belonging
• Develop agency
• Participate in a project focused on personal development or an aspiration.

In EIF, students will lead their own learning and use a self-directed approach to move away from the old ‘what do you want to do?’ and towards ‘who do you want to be?’

Exploring Identities & Futures contributes 10 credits towards the SACE and because it is compulsory, students need to achieve a C grade or higher.

What is Community Learning?

There are a number of different ways to gain SACE credits. Students are able to earn SACE credits for community learning in two ways:

• community developed programs
• self-directed community learning.

Community Developed Programs

Many community organisations develop their own learning programs, which students can undertake and count towards their SACE.

These include programs such as:

• Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
• Royal Life Saving Society
• SA Country Fire Service
• Scouts SA
• Australian Music Examination Boards (Grades 5 – 8)
• Australian Army Cadets.

A full list of SACE recognised community developed courses can be found on the SACE Board of SA website under Subjects > Recognised Learning.

Self-Directed Community Learning

Students may be involved in a program or course outside school which is not formally accredited, but students may still receive SACE credits for. This could include:

• participating in a sport at an elite level
• acting as a carer for an elderly or invalid person
• teaching others a specialised skill
• gaining a pilot’s license.

Students will need to show evidence of their learning when applying for SACE credits for Self-Directed Community Learning. To check if you can apply for SACE credits for learning outside school, please see the Learning Engagement and Pathways Coordinator, Mr Carl Todman.

University and TAFE entry

Students who complete the SACE are eligible for university entry, provided they meet certain requirements. For university entry, students need to achieve 90 credits at Stage 2, including at least 60 credits of Stage 2 subjects recognised by universities. The final 30 credits can be gained in a variety of ways defined by the universities. Universities also specify required subjects for some of their courses. TAFE SA recognises the SACE as meeting the Minimum Entry Requirements for most of its courses. It also considers a variety of other qualifications and experiences in its entry and selection processes.

Students with disabilities

The SACE offers a range of modified subjects at Stage 1 and Stage 2 to provide opportunities for students with identified intellectual disabilities to demonstrate their learning. A student’s achievement in a modified subject will be reported as ‘Completed’, with the appropriate number of SACE credits. The SACE certificate will indicate the student has achieved the SACE using one or more modified subjects. For more information about modified subjects, visit: Overview - Modified Subjects - South Australian Certificate of Education (sace.sa.edu.au)

Special provisions

Special provisions are special arrangements for students who may be in a situation where an illness, impairment, learning difficulty or unforeseen incident has made completing their assessment difficult. For school-assessed tasks in Stage 1 or Stage 2, schools decide if a student is eligible for special provisions. The SACE Board will determine a student’s eligibility for special provisions for external assessments at Stage 2 (examinations, investigation, etc). Students applying for special provisions need to provide evidence of their impairment, learning difficulty, or unforeseen circumstance. For more information about special provisions, visit the SACE website: Overview - Special provisions - South Australian Certificate of Education (sace.sa.edu.au)

Interstate, overseas and adult students

The SACE Board will grant status for equivalent learning in recognised areas for interstate, overseas  and adult students. For more information about the arrangements, visit the SACE website.

Open Access/Glenunga International High School

Should a student, after extensive subject and career counselling, elect to study a Stage 1 or Stage 2 subject that is not offered at Blackfriars and that is supported by the school, the school will contribute 50% to the cost of the subject up to $1,000.00 per student per year.

Should the student fail to complete the subject or leave Blackfriars before the completion of Year 12, the fees are required to be repaid in full.

In all cases, the school will be invoiced for tuition fees and families will be on-charged.