SECONDARY YEARS · YEARS 7–12
Your learner’s interests are growing.
So are the choices ahead.
The secondary years are a time for your learner to explore what’s possible, discover what fits and keep the right options open. You don’t need to understand the whole system. We’ll show you what matters at your learner’s stage.
No account needed to look around.
Where is my learner in the secondary years?
Choose your learner’s year and where you live. If you’ve already told us, both are picked for you.
Year 8 · Victoria
Stage: Discover
What’s happening now
- Noticing which subjects and activities your learner enjoys
- More independence with homework and organisation
Decisions approaching
- Electives for Year 9, at many schools
Things worth exploring
- Whether your learner could study a subject ahead
- Specialist programs in an area your learner loves
- Scholarships with later entry years
Schools differ too. Ask your learner’s school about its own subjects, programs and dates.
The secondary years, in three stages
Nobody needs a career worked out in Year 7. Each stage builds on what your learner noticed in the one before.
Years 7–8 · Year 8 is here
Discover
Settle into secondary school, try a wide range of subjects, and notice what your learner enjoys and does well at.
Years 9–10
Explore & Plan
Try new things, make choices that start to mean more, explore pathways and opportunities, and get ready for the senior years.
Years 11–12
Choose & Progress
Follow a program that suits your learner, keep the right options open, and prepare for what comes next.
What will your learner be learning?
Broadly, eight learning areas.
- English
- Mathematics
- Science
- Humanities and social sciences
- Health and physical education
- Technologies
- The arts
- Languages
The actual subjects and electives depend on your state, the school, the year level and the choices your learner makes.
How is your learner going?
Progress is more than one result. Look at it together.
- School reports
- Teacher feedback
- Assessment results
- What your learner thinks
- How engaged your learner is
- NAPLAN, where relevant
About NAPLAN
NAPLAN is in March for Years 7 and 9. It’s one snapshot of literacy and numeracy, read alongside everything else. It isn’t something to prepare for at home.
Connect interests, strengths and possibilities
Start the conversation with these. Over time, your learner will answer more of them without you.
I enjoy…
Ask which lessons and activities your learner looks forward to.
I’m good at…
What teachers, coaches and friends notice too.
I’m curious about…
Topics, jobs or places your learner wants to know more about.
I’d like to try…
A subject, a club, a program or an experience.
I care about…
People, causes and problems that matter to your learner.
Skills I’d like to build…
Practical, creative, social or technical.
We won’t ask what career your learner wants. Exploring comes before deciding.
What is your learner into right now?
Pick as many as fit. We’ll suggest ways for your learner to explore each one. Nothing is saved, and none of it is a career choice.
Pick an interest above to see some ways to explore it.
Nothing you pick here is saved.
DECISION SUPPORT
Choosing subjects without closing doors
There’s no single right combination. These six things help you see what a choice leads to, and what it might rule out.
Interest
What does your learner enjoy? Enjoyment keeps effort going for two years.
Strengths
Where is your learner doing well? Where are things improving?
Progression
Does this subject lead into a later one? Some senior subjects expect an earlier one.
Prerequisites
Could a course your learner is curious about require it after school?
Availability
Does your learner’s school offer it, and in which years? If not, is there another way?
Flexibility
Which options keep more doors open while your learner is still deciding?
We don’t recommend a subject because it “scales better”. We help you see the trade-offs.
Could your learner study ahead?
Some schools let students go further or faster in a subject. It isn’t right for every learner, and not every school offers it. It may be worth asking about.
Extension
More depth within the same year level.
Subject acceleration
Taking a subject with an older year group.
External or virtual learning
A subject from another provider, without changing schools.
University extension, later
Some universities offer a first-year subject in the senior years.
- Can students take a subject from a higher year level?
- From which year, and in which subjects?
- What are the eligibility criteria, and who decides?
- Can subjects be taken externally if you don’t offer them?
- How does going ahead affect later subject choices?
EASY TO MISS
Some opportunities are easy to miss
Families often hear about these from other parents, after the date has passed. You don’t need to chase all of them. Here’s how each one looks for Year 8 in Victoria.
Not relevant to your family? Choose “Not for us” to hide it on this page.
Study ahead
Worth exploringExtension, enrichment and acceleration
Worth asking now how the school supports students who are ready for more.
Varies by schoolSpecialist programs
Worth exploringSTEM, music, arts, sport, languages and more
Some schools and providers run programs with their own applications or auditions.
Varies by schoolSelective entry
No action yetSelective schools and programs in Victoria
Applications for Year 9 entry in 2027 have closed, and the exam was in June. A small number of places may come up in Years 10 and 11; the schools manage those directly.
Source: Victorian Government (opens in a new tab), last checked 17 October 2026Scholarships
Worth exploringIncluding later entry, not just Year 7
Some schools offer scholarships for entry in later years, such as Year 9, 10 or 11. Each school sets its own dates.
Varies by schoolLater school entry
Worth exploringOther intake years, vacancies and entry routes
Many schools take new students in years other than Year 7. Some keep waiting lists for those years.
Varies by schoolExternal learning
No action yetSubjects or programs without changing schools
Most useful once elective and senior choices begin.
Varies by school
SCHOOL FIT
Does your learner’s current school still fit?
Learners change. A school that fitted in Year 7 may fit just as well in Year 10, or it may not. These are the things worth looking at.
- Subjects and electives
- Challenge and extension
- Specialist programs
- Senior pathways
- Support and wellbeing
- A sense of belonging
- Travel and cost
- Scholarships and entry options
What might your learner gain?
- A subject or program not available now
- More challenge, or more support
- A senior pathway that suits your learner better
- A fresh start, if one is needed
What might your learner give up?
- Friendships and community
- A familiar place and routine
- A shorter trip each day
- Support that’s already working
- Continuity with teachers who know your learner
A different school isn’t automatically a better one. It may just become a better fit as your learner changes. We won’t rank one school above another.
School choice doesn’t end at Year 7
Schools take new students in different ways. Each school sets its own rules, so ask the schools you’re considering.
- Main intake
- Another intake year
- Vacancy only
- Scholarship entry
- Selective or program entry
- Boarding entry
Not offered at your learner’s school? Ask first.
Before thinking about a move, ask whether your learner can get it another way:
- An external or virtual subject
- Another school or provider, part-time
- Enrolment across two schools, where it’s available
- A specialist program outside school
- University extension, later on
Explore beyond the classroom
Real experiences tell your learner more than any quiz. None of these has to lead to a decision.
Career conversations
Talking with people about what their work is really like.
Industry visits
Seeing a workplace, a lab or a site in person.
Projects and competitions
Testing an interest on something real.
Volunteering and shadowing
Helping out, or spending a day alongside someone.
Work experience
Where the school offers it. Timing varies.
VET and apprenticeship tasters
Trying hands-on training while still at school.
Important moments across the secondary years
Shown for Victoria. The exact timing differs by school.
Year 7
- Settling in
- NAPLAN in March
- Finding out which later opportunities exist
Year 8 · now
- Interests becoming clearer
- Year 9 electives, at many schools
- Selective entry application and June exam
Year 9
- NAPLAN in March
- More electives
- Deeper pathway exploration
Year 10
- Senior subject and pathway planning
- Work experience, at some schools
- Choosing the VCE, VCE Vocational Major or VPC
Year 11
- Senior program begins
- Auditions, portfolios or interviews, where relevant
Year 12
- Completing requirements
- Applications and next-step decisions
- VTAC applications
Year 10 is often a planning year
Not something to plan in Year 8. Year 10 subject choices and the senior years show here from Year 9.
How can I support my learner without making the choices?
Your learner leads. You help widen the view.
- Ask what your learner is enjoying, and why
- Encourage real experiences
- Look into options together
- Talk with teachers and careers practitioners
- Understand which prerequisites matter
- Avoid pushing an early career decision
It’s okay for the plan to change
Interests change. So do results, confidence, experiences and opportunities. A plan is meant to move with your learner.
- Create
- Explore
- Review
- Adjust
See what EduTrail can uncover for your learner
Your plan starts from your learner’s year, your state and interests. It shows what matters now and what’s coming, so you don’t have to chase everything at once.
Build my learner’s planFree. Nothing is shared with a school.
Amelia
Year 8 · Victoria · Into science, maths and technology
Ask about studying ahead
A question to take to her next parent–teacher interview.
Because Amelia is in Year 8 and is doing well in maths and science.
Selective entry opportunity
Year 9 entry. Applications open early in Year 8; the exam is in June.
Because Amelia is in Year 8 in Victoria, where selective entry high schools take students into Year 9.
Later-entry scholarships
Some schools offer them for Year 9, 10 or 11. Not urgent.
Because her family said they’re open to other schools.
Keep STEM pathways open
Something to come back to when Year 10 subject choices begin.
Because Amelia is interested in science, maths and technology.
Amelia is a made-up example of how a plan sorts things by when they matter. This card doesn’t change with the year or state you pick above. Your own plan uses your learner’s year, state and interests, whatever they are.
What happens after school?
University, TAFE and VET, apprenticeships, work, or a mix of these. Many people combine them or change direction later.
Common questions
Usually electives are chosen for Year 9 or 10, and senior subjects in Year 10. Each school sets its own timing.
At some schools, yes. Ask from which year, in which subjects, and how it affects later choices.
It depends on your state. Some states have selective schools with set entry years and tests; in others, programs are run by individual schools. Pick your state above to see what applies.
Some schools offer scholarships for entry in years other than Year 7. Each school sets its own criteria and dates.
That’s normal. Interests change, and a plan should change with them. Keeping options open early makes it easier.
Your learner’s plan uses the year level, your state and your learner’s interests to show what matters now and what’s coming up.
Each state has its own senior certificate and rules. Pick your state above to see yours.
The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank. It shows a student’s position relative to others, and some universities use it for entry. It isn’t the senior certificate.
No. Many pathways, including TAFE, apprenticeships, work and some university entry, don’t depend on it.
Only if it would be a better fit. Look at what your learner would gain and give up, and whether what’s needed is available another way first.
Often, yes, through a virtual school or another provider. Ask your school what it allows.
You don’t need to chase everything.
Start a plan, and see what matters for your learner and when.