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Can schools reject you of doing a subject? (1 Viewer)

lilcutetricker

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I've been worrying for months now that I might not make it into the courses I want for years 11 and 12 because I haven't been the best in all my subjects, all I know for certain is that I've made it into economics, physics and chemistry and unsure of ext1 English or maths because I've heard that since ~80 people chose advance English and ~90 people chose maths ext 1 including those doing 5.1 and 5.2, they would have to cut people because there isn't "enough" teachers to teach the course or the people would have to prove that they're capable (which im sure I have for English).

Though it isn't exactly a bad school, ranked ~110 but I know that the top half of my cohort is incredibly intelligent and the bottom half is lazy. I don't want to have to have the stress of knowing I have to ace my course to get a 90+ atar just because the workload is smaller compared to extension subjects, plus since I don't have a tutor and the fact that my teachers this year taught me absolutely nothing, I don't want my cohorts next year to drag me down.

I'm not sure what consideration they take for English but maths I know the requirements are that you have to be doing the 5.3 course (~90 people in the course chose extension 1 maths excluding those who chose only mathematics) which I am. I'm in the second highest class ranked ~15 currently (stuffed up). Can anyone tell me if they can actually drop me because there are too many people doing a course ?
 

iJimmy

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no they cannot prevent u but they can guide you to what suites you best.
 

lilcutetricker

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Why are people doing 5.1 choosing 3u maths? Wtf?

And no, they should not drop you.
thanks guys appreciate it! Some people in my school are very optimistic about getting high ranks in maths ext1 when they're doing the 5.1 and 5.2 course as well as struggling with basic trigonometry, geometry and quadratics, poor fools...
 

enoilgam

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Can anyone tell me if they can actually drop me because there are too many people doing a course ?
Yes they can. I'm pretty sure that a school cant stop you from choosing a subject unless there is no room or no teacher to run the course. Schools use this loophole to stop poor performing students from doing certain subjects.
 

lilcutetricker

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Yes they can. I'm pretty sure that a school cant stop you from choosing a subject unless there is no room or no teacher to run the course. Schools use this loophole to stop poor performing students from doing certain subjects.
awkward when a very poor performing student can do physics, chemistry and biology all at once at my school...
 

cem

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If the class is full then they can stop another student joining that class so if 90 chose a course and there is only enough teachers etc for 75 students (3 classes of 25) then the last 15 in the rankings won't be able to do that course.
 

hecc

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I know this is old, but there are still people who think that this is still true today so here is a 2021 update:
I've called NESA and according to them, schools can reject students from doing subjects if the school does not think that the student can handle it.

they recommend that you talk to your school principal to negotiate, but they will not get involved.
 

5uckerberg

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I've been worrying for months now that I might not make it into the courses I want for years 11 and 12 because I haven't been the best in all my subjects, all I know for certain is that I've made it into economics, physics and chemistry and unsure of ext1 English or maths because I've heard that since ~80 people chose advance English and ~90 people chose maths ext 1 including those doing 5.1 and 5.2, they would have to cut people because there isn't "enough" teachers to teach the course or the people would have to prove that they're capable (which im sure I have for English).

Though it isn't exactly a bad school, ranked ~110 but I know that the top half of my cohort is incredibly intelligent and the bottom half is lazy. I don't want to have the stress of knowing I have to ace my course to get a 90+ atar just because the workload is smaller compared to extension subjects, plus since I don't have a tutor and the fact that my teachers this year taught me absolutely nothing, I don't want my cohorts next year to drag me down.

I'm not sure what consideration they take for English but maths I know the requirements are that you have to be doing the 5.3 course (~90 people in the course chose extension 1 maths excluding those who chose only mathematics) which I am. I'm in the second highest class ranked ~15 currently (stuffed up). Can anyone tell me if they can actually drop me because there are too many people doing a course ?
Okay, time to throw in some cold hard facts. If there are people choosing Extension I maths from 5.2 and 5.1 I would already imagine natural selection will deal with them quickly, and also 5.3 does not guarantee that they will do well in Mathematics Extension 1 because there is a difference between Stage 5.3 and Stage 5.3+. Of course, if you do well you're not going to get dropped and if you are surviving or thriving in the second-highest class by rank you will still live to tell the tale of your mathematical journey. I assume the number of people choosing Extension I Mathematics is because they like to brag about it like "Oh look at me I am doing some hard maths I am smart." They are going to cry somewhere. Just wait and play the long game and improve yourself.
 

_rakelt

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My school did prevent me. If you wanted to do a subject and they didn't think your marks were good, then you would have to "appeal"
 

hecc

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My school did prevent me. If you wanted to do a subject and they didn't think your marks were good, then you would have to "appeal"
My school didn't even notify us about ext 2 math selections and they didn't tell us when the course would start. They privately emailed invites to those who ranked ~top 10 in both their ext1 and adv classes. People were still asking about picking up ext 2 after the course had commenced and the teachers wouldn't really respond to them :l

it wasn't until after the 1st week after the course started that many students, including myself noticed that the course had already started. It was really annoying for a lot of us that really wanted to get in as there was no chance of appealing, especially during online learning where we couldn't really get in contact with any teachers. some of my friends tried talking to the principal and the math faculty, but both were adamant that they were not allowing anyone else in.
It really sucks that schools are allowed to impose their own cutoffs for HSC subjects as my old school lets anyone who wants to do it, do it. and a lot of my friends from that school are doing it.

I wonder if there are any other options at the moment
tafe isn't doing any ext 2 courses this year and our principal won't give permission to do it at the distance high school
some students have considered leaving to go to another school, but I really don't want to do that
 

ExtremelyBoredUser

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My school didn't even notify us about ext 2 math selections and they didn't tell us when the course would start. They privately emailed invites to those who ranked ~top 10 in both their ext1 and adv classes. People were still asking about picking up ext 2 after the course had commenced and the teachers wouldn't really respond to them :l

it wasn't until after the 1st week after the course started that many students, including myself noticed that the course had already started. It was really annoying for a lot of us that really wanted to get in as there was no chance of appealing, especially during online learning where we couldn't really get in contact with any teachers. some of my friends tried talking to the principal and the math faculty, but both were adamant that they were not allowing anyone else in.
It really sucks that schools are allowed to impose their own cutoffs for HSC subjects as my old school lets anyone who wants to do it, do it. and a lot of my friends from that school are doing it.

I wonder if there are any other options at the moment
tafe isn't doing any ext 2 courses this year and our principal won't give permission to do it at the distance high school
some students have considered leaving to go to another school, but I really don't want to do that
Thats pretty sad, I would've preferred if they just told in advance that only the top 10 ranked in Ext 1/adv will be chosen for ext 2 so everyone knows the stakes. Perhaps if you can go to the head teacher and ask him what you need to do to prove yourself worthy of joining the class, perhaps show him you've already started complex numbers or you have an active study routine - show him/her your extreme dedication/commitment and plan and if they're reasonable people they might let you in. That is what I did for moving up from advanced to ext 1 mid term 1 and it really paid off and changed the trajectory of my HSC.
 
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My school didn't even notify us about ext 2 math selections and they didn't tell us when the course would start. They privately emailed invites to those who ranked ~top 10 in both their ext1 and adv classes. People were still asking about picking up ext 2 after the course had commenced and the teachers wouldn't really respond to them :l

it wasn't until after the 1st week after the course started that many students, including myself noticed that the course had already started. It was really annoying for a lot of us that really wanted to get in as there was no chance of appealing, especially during online learning where we couldn't really get in contact with any teachers. some of my friends tried talking to the principal and the math faculty, but both were adamant that they were not allowing anyone else in.
It really sucks that schools are allowed to impose their own cutoffs for HSC subjects as my old school lets anyone who wants to do it, do it. and a lot of my friends from that school are doing it.

I wonder if there are any other options at the moment
tafe isn't doing any ext 2 courses this year and our principal won't give permission to do it at the distance high school
some students have considered leaving to go to another school, but I really don't want to do that
that's kinda dog, and unnecessarily shady on your school's part. everyone should've had the right to know how 4u works even if not everybody was gonna qualify, for the sake of transparency and full disclosure at least. unfair that majority of students get deprived of the chance to do 4u only because they're not in top 10, sometimes marks don't reflect someone's potential and as long as they have the enthusiasm and drive then they should be given the opportunity to try
 

ExtremelyBoredUser

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that's kinda dog, and unnecessarily shady on your school's part. everyone should've had the right to know how 4u works even if not everybody was gonna qualify, for the sake of transparency and full disclosure at least. unfair that majority of students get deprived of the chance to do 4u only because they're not in top 10, sometimes marks don't reflect someone's potential and as long as they have the enthusiasm and drive then they should be given the opportunity to try
aaaah wat happened to ur profile :(
 

hecc

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Thats pretty sad, I would've preferred if they just told in advance that only the top 10 ranked in Ext 1/adv will be chosen for ext 2 so everyone knows the stakes. Perhaps if you can go to the head teacher and ask him what you need to do to prove yourself worthy of joining the class, perhaps show him you've already started complex numbers or you have an active study routine - show him/her your extreme dedication/commitment and plan and if they're reasonable people they might let you in. That is what I did for moving up from advanced to ext 1 mid term 1 and it really paid off and changed the trajectory of my HSC.
Students already kinda knew that we had to be ranked somewhere in the top 10 (we didn't know the exact number but max class sizes in previous years had been around 15 - 10 ), the problem was that those who were not invited were never told that the course had started or that they were not invited so people who were expecting invites were still unaware that we hadn't been accepted. :l
we also hadn't received any semester 2 reports (bc no exams could be held during online learning) so everyone was going off their semester 1 ranks. I ranked in the top 10 for ext 1 and around 20 in adv, so I thought I may of had a chance, I guess not :(
 

ExtremelyBoredUser

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Students already kinda knew that we had to be ranked somewhere in the top 10 (we didn't know the exact number but max class sizes in previous years had been around 15 - 10 ), the problem was that those who were not invited were never told that the course had started or that they were not invited so people who were expecting invites were still unaware that we hadn't been accepted. :l
we also hadn't received any semester 2 reports (bc no exams could be held during online learning) so everyone was going off their semester 1 ranks. I ranked in the top 10 for ext 1 and around 20 in adv, so I thought I may of had a chance, I guess not :(
Not sure why they'd cap MX2 at that range, if there was a greater demand for MX2 classes then they should be able to supplement them with an extra class or so. Also there's going to be people dropping MX2 naturally whether it be at the start of the course (the bulk of people) or to the middle even if they're hard working so it doesn't make sense. Personally I would still go to the head teacher and inquire if there's any way, it doesn't hurt to try trust me, I think you'll find some teachers have a soft spot for those who have worked hard + your apparently rank 10 for MX1 so you would fit the criteria?
It does suck because if you are to a 4U capability you will not be rewarded, and you don't have the same incentive as your 4U counterparts for grinding maths.

If you tried and the teacher won't budge, then you just have to take the situation in and realise its not the end of the world. Think of the benefits for not taking 4U, you can focus on your subjects such as chem/phys etc that demand more focus and in that way you can get more done there.
 

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