Queensland curriculum in Years 7 to 12

Not yet. The development of the Australian Curriculum continues and further information can be found on the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) website. Queensland schools have adopted the Australian Curriculum for English, mathematics, science, history and geography from Prep to Year 10. Until the full roll-out of the national curriculum is complete, schools will be completing a step-by-step approach to introducing the national curriculum, with the flexibility to retain their own curriculum in some study areas.

The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) has developed the Queensland Curriculum Assessment Reporting (QCAR) framework, which includes a list of Essential Learnings and Standards that pinpoint what should be taught in schools from Years 7 to 10 — and what students should then be able to do with what they’ve studied. There are eight key learning areas that are outlined in the Essential Learnings framework:

The system is designed to achieve consistency in what is taught across the state and allows students to better foster their study capabilities before entering the advanced years of secondary schooling.

The QCAA and Queensland's school sectors (Education Queensland, Queensland Catholic Education Commission and Independent Schools Queensland) will be taking a staged approach to implementing the Years 7 to 10 national curriculum.

Beyond Year 10, there are syllabuses for senior secondary subjects in Queensland. Units that can be undertaken in Years 11 and 12 fall within the following subject areas:

Students who are working towards attaining their QCE can achieve their certificate through a number of options. Senior school subjects (as listed above), vocational education and training, workplace and community learning and university subjects can all contribute to gaining the QCE.

Courses of studies are organised into four broad categories: core, preparatory, enrichment and advanced. Please see the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority website for more information on what each category entails.

20 credit points must be gained in order to be awarded the QCE, with a minimum of 12 credit points derived from core studies at school. The remaining eight credit points can be derived from a mixture of all of the above categories (with preparatory studies contributing no more than six credit points). Literacy and numeracy requirements must also be fulfilled in order to attain the QCE.