Re: No programming experience in high school so far but interested in doing an IT cou
If programming is what you are interested in specifically, then self teach it.
SDD and IPT end up only really teaching the very basics of programming, go on
Codeacademy and learn a language or two on there, watch youtube videos etc.
Additionally look up the National Computer Science School, it's run by Usyd - they have a
summer school over the holidays but there is also the
NCSS challenge which looks really good. The summer school might be competitive to get into (not sure), but it's a worth a go and the challenge seems to be free for all.
If you are a bit of a high acheiver and/or think your maths teacher could provide a reference for next year, also look into
UNSW High School Computing. That is a whole university subject and provides credit, so they are selective with who gets to do it. But it seems like they have a less intense option now that is open to everyone as opposed to needing to be selected, so that would definitely be worth looking into.