Year 10 students, their parents and teachers can now see the updated Higher School Certificate Course Descriptions.

To view the new course descriptions, download the PDF from the HSC support materials page.

The HSC Course Descriptions are an important resource for Year 10 students making subject choices for their HSC study.

Many schools also provide detailed descriptions of the courses on offer to their students, as well as holding subject information sessions for both students and parents.

Year 10 students with questions about courses on offer for the HSC should speak to their Year Adviser or school counsellor.

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Specially designed to help schools plan for their 2009 online Computing Skills Test, the Board of Studies new CST Bandwith Tester application is now available.

The tester application quickly tells schools how fast the internet speed is between their computers and the Board's server.

It then recommends the maximum number of online tests to be run at any one time.

The Chief Executive of the Office of the Board of Studies NSW, Dr John Bennett, said the new CST Bandwith Tester was different to a normal internet speed tester.

"The CST tester is a more realistic measure of the way the school's internet speed will affect the number of CST applications that can run at the same time," Dr Bennett said.

"The tester is tailored to the requirements of our online test as the data travels between the Board's servers and the school.

"School CST Coordinators and ICT Coordinators should find the new tester extremely helpful in planning their school timetable for the online CST this year."

Dr Bennett said the tester application allows schools to enter their school Board ID number and name for each bandwidth test.

"This is optional, but if the school ID is captured for each test, our IT support staff can refer to those results if schools experience difficulty during the CST," he said.

The CST is a mandatory part of the NSW School Certificate Tests, which take place for all Year 10 students in November.

This year, the online version of the CST can be held any time from Wednesday 11 November, Thursday 12 November, or Friday 13 November 2009. The written version of the test takes place on Friday 13 November from 11.00am to 12.15pm.

Try the new CST Bandwidth Tester here.

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Higher School Certificate syllabuses and related assessment advice are now easier to read and easier to find.

All the key documents relating to HSC syllabuses and assessments are now linked from one simple landing page and organised by subject areas as well as quick alphabetical indexes.

For the first time, HSC examination and assessment advice will be published as separate documents, rather than appearing in different places and different ways in each syllabus. This is particularly useful for students and others with an interest in several syllabuses.

The new design makes it easier to navigate to all the HSC syllabus and assessment information that teachers and students need.

The new two-column layout shows there are differences between the current 2009 HSC arrangements and the mostly minor changes to the 2010 HSC exams and assessments.

The new syllabus pages will be progressively updated as the 2010 HSC changes to exams and assessment advice are finalised for each subject.

Bookmark new HSC syllabus and assessment landing page now.

Read about the background to the 2010 HSC exam and assessment changes here.

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View the PRIME Tamworth video news story about the DesignTECH opening and the regional award winner, Daniel Brown.

View the Northern Daily Leader newspaper article.

A 2008 Higher School Certificate student from Carinya Christian School, Tamworth, has been named a regional award winner for his design of a compost tea brewer. Daniel Brown, a 2008 HSC Design and Technology student, is among students from the North Western region chosen to exhibit their major works in the regional exhibition of the HSC showcase, DesignTECH, at Ray Walsh House from 17 to 30 June 2009.

Daniel was today (17 June 2009) named the recipient of the UNSW Faculty of the Built Environment DesignTECH Regional Tour Award for the North Western region.

The Minister for Education and Training, Verity Firth, congratulated Daniel on receiving the Regional Tour Award for his project.

"As part of his HSC Design and Technology course, Daniel created an innovative system, called Microbe Magic. This is a compost tea brewer which pumps air through compost, depositing organisms into water to create an organic fertiliser.

"Air is pumped through a cylinder covered at the end with a mesh bag holding compost, known as a compost basket. The basket is suspended in a large container of water. Air is pumped through the cylinder for six or seven hours, forcing fungi, bacteria and other organisms into the water, creating a weak 'tea' solution.

"The compost basket is then removed from the container. Molasses, fish and other foods are added to the solution and air is pumped directly into it for 48 hours to enable the organisms to multiply.

"The final product is further diluted to create an organic fertiliser, which can be sprayed on foliage and builds up the micro-organisms in the soil.

"It is an outstanding project, and we wish Daniel well in his future studies and career," Ms Firth said.

The UNSW Faculty of the Built Environment sponsors the Regional Tour Award in recognition of talented young designers from regional NSW who 'play a future role in designing for a sustainable future'.

Ms Firth said some of the State's best young designers were on show at the Tamworth DesignTECH exhibition.

"Outstanding works by four students from the North Western region, including Daniel Brown, were specially chosen for the local version of the DesignTECH exhibition," she said.

"They include decorative French doors created by Kellie Smith, of Carinya Christian School, Tamworth, and a luggage set by Stephanie Brummell, of PLC Armidale. The luggage was included in the Grafton DesignTECH exhibition because Stephanie lives at Glen Innes.

"A two-in-one chair design by Amanda Scott, of Tamworth, who completed the course with Dubbo School of Distance Education, was also chosen for exhibition but was not available for display.

"A fifth local student, Andrew van Baal (O'Connor Catholic College), whose work was exhibited at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, is part of the regional tour. His device which locks brakes safely is also on show at Ray Walsh House along with 14 other projects on tour."

The Board of Studies NSW runs DesignTECH in association with the Department of Education and Training to highlight the talent and skills demonstrated by HSC Design and Technology students. Ms Firth encouraged students and residents of Tamworth and the North Western region to visit the exhibition.

"DesignTECH gives the community the chance to see the innovative work and technological applications emerging from the Design and Technology curriculum in NSW," she said.

"The projects, which meet an identified need in the community, are immensely creative, innovative and practical."

The DesignTECH exhibition will be open in Ray Walsh House, 437 Peel Street, Tamworth, until 30 June 2009.

See the DesignTECH gallery guides and the remaining exhibition dates for Wagga Wagga and Southern Highlands.

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This advice was first published 5 June 2009 and is republished today as a reminder for schools in light of more recent swine flu reports.

If HSC assessment tasks are disrupted due to swine flu related student or staff absences, schools should apply their existing policies and the Board's usual guidelines for illness and disruptions to school assessments.

[More]

The Universities Admissions Centre has announced NSW is changing the UAI to a new Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, or ATAR.

The ATAR will use 99.95 as its top rank point, rather than 100 in the former UAI system. In other ways, however, the ATAR will be very similar to the UAI.

Parents, students and teachers are reminded that this will have no impact on the Higher School Certificate. HSC marks report on what a student has achieved in each course, and a mark of 100 will still be possible.

UAC has provided a conversion table, frequently asked questions and other information on its website. Read more on the UAC website.

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If HSC assessment tasks are disrupted due to swine flu related student or staff absences, schools should apply their existing policies and the Board's usual guidelines for illness and disruptions to school assessments.

[More]

Almost 10 000 students, parents and teachers attended the inaugural Sydney Morning Herald HSC and Careers Expo.

The Board of Studies played a major role in the Expo. Between 15 and 17 May 2009 an estimated 7000 students attended 18 Board seminars on Higher School Certificate courses and general topics, including exams and assessments, major works and projects and extended responses in English.

Several thousand students and their parents visited the Board's stand as well as hundreds of teachers.

Visitors to the stand talked to Board staff about the HSC exams and assessments, watched demonstrations of Students Online and received copies of the 2009 HSC exam timetable.

Watch the video featuring HSC students and the Board of Studies at the Expo

Republished as a reminder of due dates for annual reports.

BOS 07/09

Every non-government school must produce a 2008 annual report and disclose it publicly by 30 June 2009. Ideally, the annual report will be published on the school's website.

The school must also submit an electronic copy of its annual report to the Board of Studies by 30 June 2009.

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Minister for Education and Training, Ms Verity Firth today announced the appointment of Tom Alegounarias as the new President of the New South Wales Board of Studies.

Tom Alegounarias, currently Chief Executive for the Institute of Teachers, has been appointed President for a period of five years.

Ms Firth said Mr Alegounarias was a unanimous choice of the selection panel.

Read more in the Minister's media release.