TCE Academic Program

Tasmanian Certificate of Education (TCE)

The Tasmanian Government Schools Academic Program is suitable for students who are planning to complete the TCE and continue their studies at a Higher Education level.

The TCE is the qualification awarded to students who complete Senior High School in Tasmania. It is recognised throughout Australia by universities and employers.

Students studying the Academic Program will normally study at a Senior High School for two years: grade eleven and twelve. Each year, a student would normally study four or five subjects. There are no restrictions or limitations on which subjects you can study, and there are International Student Advisors available to help you choose the subjects most relevant to your interests and career plan.

In Australia, all universities allocate places to students based on their grade eleven and twelve school results. These results form your Australian Tertiary Admissions Ranking (ATAR).

To gain entry to a university, it is a requirement that students study (and successfully complete) at least four “pre-tertiary” or “pre-university” subjects. In Tasmania, these pre-university subjects are known as Level 3 subjects. As these subjects are at a pre-university level, they are quite advanced. In most subject areas there are also related Level 2 subjects which can be studied as an introduction or foundation to a Level 3 subject. This means that if you would like more preparation before studying pre-university subjects, you can choose to study the Level 2 subjects first.

 

The Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is used by students applying for university in Australia. The system allows students to access university courses from across Australia, irrespective of the state or territory in which they completed their Year 12 studies. Therefore, by completing your Senior High School program in Tasmania, you will be able to apply Australian universities with your ATAR.

The way that an ATAR is calculated is a complex process, however it allows students from anywhere within Australia to be graded by the same system. Your subject scores will be assessed alongside the scores received from students all over Australia and will be converted into an ATAR.

The ATAR score is expressed as a percentage. An ATAR of 90.00, for example, means that a student is performing in the top 10% of students in Australia that year. The maximum possible ATAR is 99.95

To be eligible for University entrance, a student must:

  • Successfully complete a minimum of four Level 3 courses
  • Students can study up to ten Level 3 courses – where students have more than five courses in total, the Tasmanian Qualifications Authority will automatically calculate the best score for the student.
  • A maximum of five Level 3 courses will be used to calculate their ATAR

All Australian universities send offers of course places to students based on their ATAR. Individual universities can provide information on the minimum ATAR needed to be offered a place for each course, however the higher your ATAR the better chance you will have of receiving an offer in the course you are aiming for.

For more information on the TCE and ATAR, visit Office of Tasmanian Assessment, Standards & Certification (TASC) https://www.tasc.tas.gov.au/

 

Academic Performance

In 2020, the top three performing Senior High Schools in Tasmania were Tasmanian Government Schools. Our schools consistently produce outstanding academic achievers who gain entry to Australia’s best universities.

These rankings are based on the number of students per school who achieved an ATAR score in the top 100 in Tasmania.