The NSW Board of Studies has announced sweeping changes to 17 Maths, Science, English and History courses.
The new HSC syllabus, announced today, will provide the state’s students with more education on Indigenous culture, the environment, Asia and Feminism.
The new content – which includes a mandatory writing unit focusing on grammar, spelling and punctuation in all English courses – will be first taught to Year 11 students in 2018.
In a statement today, BOSTES president, Tom Alegounarias, said the draft syllabuses had been re-designed to provide opportunities for students to engage in deeper learning in each course.
“BOSTES recognises the need for students to have opportunities for a richer engagement in the subjects they choose for their senior years of school,” he said.
“Increasing content depth also supports more analytical assessment enabling us to also redesign High School Certificate (HSC) exam questions.”
The new courses will not be available until 2017 to give teachers more time to become familiar with the content.
A Year 12 Science Extension syllabus is also planned to increase opportunities for students to build STEM skills and knowledge. The draft Science Extension syllabus will be developed and available for consultation later this year.
The remaining senior syllabuses will be reviewed starting in 2017 with some technology and some Asian language courses.
The latest changes follow Tuesday’s announcement by the Minister for Education of sweeping reforms to the HSC including.