Not every Year 12 student knows what they want to study at university and exam anxiety can lead to less than hoped for results. Single subjects can help pave the way to a future career.
At the end of Year 12, Tarika felt that, with a little more time, she could do better academically. Her heart and mind were set on a medical career and she knew competition for a place to study medicine at university would be fierce.
So, after completing VCE last year, she took a step back to figure out what she could do to put herself in pole position for a medical degree.
Tarika’s solution was enrolling in single subjects at Haileybury Pangea online campus, a potential post-secondary pathway for students who’ve completed Year 12 and who want stronger academic results, or who need a specific prerequisite subject to achieve their tertiary education goals.
Perhaps not widely known as an option by students and families, studying VCE subjects the year after graduating is a second chance for students whose final year results may not reflect their full potential. This may be due to exam anxiety, being overwhelmed by the pressures and expectations of Year 12, or because unexpected personal setbacks have disrupted their final school year.
Other students may not have had a clear idea of what career path they wanted to follow until after Year 12. They then discover they need a prerequisite subject to apply for a preferred tertiary course, a subject that wasn’t part of their Year 12 selection.
Single subject study is a way to complete that prerequisite and proves to young people that their future does not hinge on one set of results. It creates an opportunity for them to take control of what comes next.
It opens doors that may have previously been closed, and opens those doors within a flexible, supportive learning environment.
Tarika completed single subjects while working part-time as an English tutor and she was able to make time to take care of her health and wellbeing. She studied VCE Mathematical Methods and General Mathematics and gained the academic edge she needed to kickstart her medical career.
This year, she embarked on a medical degree at Monash University.
When I asked Tarika about her experience, she said: “Single subjects improved my ATAR which enabled me to secure a spot in my dream course at university.”
She added: “I’ve always had an interest in science, my mother is a biology teacher, so that was initially the inspiration that pushed me towards this field. During Year 11, I really gained an appreciation for medicine, especially when I saw how healthcare practitioners such as cardiologists and physiotherapists had an impact on my own family. I want to be able to provide that kind of care to other people in the community.”
Haileybury Pangea’s online classes allow post-Year 12 students to build their own timetable and to fit classes and independent learning around their commitments. Small class sizes also create opportunities for students to carve out one-on-one time with teachers to work through topics they find challenging or complex. Single subject students are also supported by Haileybury’s Careers team.
The end result is a year that is flexible, bespoke and designed to help each student achieve the best possible outcome to catapult them into their future careers.
Increasingly, schools and students are realising that educational journeys are not always linear and that success does not, and should not, be determined by one set of school results.
Single subject study can be a supportive stepping stone towards the future, whatever shape and form that takes.
For any student whose Year 12 results don’t represent their full potential, for young people who have shifted their career aspirations, or for students who simply need a more flexible learning environment because of their work, health or personal commitments, enrolling in single subjects can be one of the smartest decisions they make.
Because there is absolutely no shame in taking an additional year to invest in long-term goals.
Education should work for students, not the other way round. It should allow them to move forward with greater confidence and maturity and studying single subjects after Year 12 does that. It helps students recognise their full potential, build resilience and, like Tarika, they can create the future they want.
Joanna Baker
Head of Campus, Haileybury Pangea
In the spirit of reconciliation, Haileybury acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.
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