SACE
The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) is a modern secondary school qualification designed to equip students with the skills, knowledge, and personal capabilities to successfully participate in society. It is overseen by the SACE Board, a statutory authority of the South Australian Government.
The SACE delivers a flexible curriculum which allows students to specialise in subject areas based on their interests and opens up many pathways for our boys to move into university study, vocational education or employment.
Our boys consistently achieve strong results in the SACE, and each year we have many boys awarded Australian Tertiary Admission Ranks (ATARs) above 95.
Study pattern for SACE students
The SACE is a two-stage certificate, with most subjects undertaken in Year 11 and Year 12. Subject choice is flexible, with the only compulsory choices being literacy and numeracy subjects, along with the Identifies and Futures subjects.
Students need 200 credits to complete their SACE, fifty of these come from compulsory requirements but most are from the subjects chosen to suit a student’s interests and future pathways. Successful completion of each full year SACE subject provides 20 credits towards SACE completion.
At Prince Alfred College, all students complete the first compulsory SACE subject, Exploring Identities and Futures during Year 10.
Year 11
During Year 11, students complete the remaining three SACE compulsory components. These are the subject, Activating Identities and Futures, as well as an English subject to meet the literacy requirement, and a Mathematics subject to meet the numeracy requirement.
The pattern of subjects chosen for Year 11 are outlined below:
After English and Mathematics selections are made, students choose four additional full year Stage 1 subjects. This pattern can be also met by students with three Stage 1 subjects plus one of:
An IB Diploma subject
Students often choose to continue their studies of a second language using this option. Other popular IB Diploma subjects for SACE students include Film, History or Sport, Exercise and Health Science. Environmental Systems and Societies is offered from 2026 as an anticipated option which can be completed to Stage 2 level in one year.
A SACE Stage 2 subject
Acceleration is offered in Stage 2 Biology for students with excellent Year 10 Science results, Stage 2 Mathematical Methods for students in the X-Mathematics program and Stage 2 Music Performance for appropriately skilled musicians.
VET study requiring one day per week at the training provider
Where a student’s vocational learning is only offered in a face-to-face mode during school hours, this learning may replace one Stage 1 subject. These are usually the trade-based courses. Students are timetabled in a VET study lesson where they are able to catch up with work from missed lessons.
Year 12
By the end of Year 12 at Prince Alfred College, all students complete a total of five SACE Stage 2 or equivalent subjects. All students should consider the opportunity to study 5 subjects in Year 12 when they are best prepared through their maturity and refined approach to optimise their learning and optimise preparation for future study.
