Year 10 students: plan today and get ahead

If you are currently in Year 10, you may be tempted to think that this is your ‘rest’ year – the final opportunity to take things easy, before the hard work starts in Year 11 and 12.

However, the competition for places in top university courses is fierce, and it is often the most prepared students (rather than the smartest) that score the top ATARs.

Year 10 is an important period of your school career as you build into your subject selection and academic focus for the HSC years. The subject content becomes much more difficult at the Year 11 & 12 level, and more importantly, the competition becomes much fiercer as many more students look to get a head-start advantage over their peers.

 

Are you a High Achieve looking to be pushed?

Talent’s philosophy for Year 10 is to introduce students to Year 11 material one year in advance, so you can make educated and informed decisions about which subjects to select.

We that many students lean towards the Science subjects, but they don’t quite know which subjects they should select in Year 11. Our Year 10 Science course introduces you to preliminary Chemistry and Physics concepts taught in Year 11. The idea behind this is to help students select which of these subjects are best suited to them and where they can maximise their marks.

English as the only mandatory HSC subject

English is the only subject which must be included in a student’s ATAR.

Schools usually do a good job of introducing students to their texts – giving students the opportunity to read/watch their school texts, and to grasp the basic themes. But students often fail when it comes to knowing how to find the most useful material in their texts, and knowing how to write the most effective responses. This is because schools almost never dedicate enough time to the following four areas which lead to success in English. They include:

1.   How to analyse texts in details
2.   How to write the most effective responses
3.   Understanding what the Syllabus requires
4.   Providing detailed personal feedback

At Talent, our Mentors are dedicated to identifying and responding personally to the individual strengths and weaknesses of each student. Our Year 10 lessons regularly explain how the skills we cover and many of the texts will be relevant to their senior studies. The best possible preparation for their future assessments is to train students for the universal marking criteria of HSC English exams.

RELATED: How To Choose The Right Subjects For Year 11

Mastering Mathematics

Do you know Extension 1 and 2 Mathematics are the highest scaling subjects in the HSC? Being just average in Maths Extension courses can boost your ATAR significantly, once those marks are scaled against other subjects.

One of the most popular questions students ask is “Which level of Mathematics should I take?”

Our Year 10 Maths course pathways you into the best option for you and your abilities. In the second half of the year, Talent 100 will run acceleration courses in Extension Mathematics for exceptional students who want to learn Year 11 material at least 2 terms in advance. Entry to these classes will be by invitation only, and students may be required to sit a diagnostic exam to be accepted.  

The Mythical ‘Scaling” Process

Scaling of your subjects has a very significant impact on your overall ATAR. If you are looking to score to a high ATAR, performing moderately well in the right portfolio of subjects will ensure that you sore a high ATAR, whilst even scoring very well in low scaling subjects may lead to lower ATAR.

We’re sure you’ve all heard of the mythical “Scaling” process and how you can optimise your ATAR result by selecting the right subjects. To help you understand how scaling works and how it affects your decisions, Talent welcomes you to attend our exclusive “Bridging The Gap” seminar. The 90 minute free seminar will explain scaling, assessments and how to pick the right subjects in Year 11. Limited spaces are available, and bookings are essential. Reserve your position today so you don’t miss out.

Click here to reserve your seat now!

The race has started

Our Year 11 courses start in Term 4 for Year 10 students, make sure you are ready to take that leap! The race has started, are you ready?

Click here to find out more information about Sydney HSC Tutoring and our Talent 100 Learning Centres.