The latest HSC facts, trends and resources can be found in the 2009 Higher School Certificate Media Guide.

Featuring artwork from 2008 HSC students on the front and back covers, the 2009 HSC Media Guide offers readers the enrolment figures for every HSC subject in this record-breaking year. The Guide also includes important statistics and dates for the 2009 mandatory School Certificate Tests for Year 10 students.

The 2009 HSC Media Guide is available as a PDF file to download as well as the quick linked HTML document.

Journalists may request a print copy of the 2009 HSC Media Guide from the Corporate Communications Unit by emailing information@bos.nsw.edu.au with postal delivery details. Some previous years' Media Guides are also available in print for journalists wishing to compare statistics across time.

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Updates to the FAQs 11-12 for teachers of students with special education needs have been published on the Board's website.

The updates include FAQs related to:

• the reviewed Stage 6 Creative Arts Life Skills Syllabus
• School Developed Board Endorsed Courses for a Language or Religion for students with special education needs
• HSC: All My Own Work - Exemption for students undertaking only Life Skills courses

Contact: Susan Jones
Senior Curriculum Officer, Special Education
(02) 9367 8148
susan.jones@bos.nsw.edu.au

Preparations are beginning for the annual HSC showcases and soon the Board and Department of Education will be asking schools/students to submit DVDs and photographs of nominated works.

Encore, OnStage and Callback Nominated students need to submit a DVD of their performance. Many schools already film HSC performances as a record of students' work and to keep as a backup in case anything goes wrong. If your school already has a suitable recording, you don't need to film a new version for the nomination process. If your school doesn't have a recording of students' work, it's probably a good idea to try to film performances while students are still at school, prior to the start of written HSC exams.

The Board has extended the period for ENCORE submissions until 20 November 2009. This will allow schools that have not had an opportunity to film their nominated Music students before the exams to do so after marking is completed.

DesignTECH Nominated students will need to provide digital photographs of their major design project. Again, many schools and students already photograph major works to document achievement and as a useful record in case of misadventure.

English Extension 2 students are also reminded to keep a copy of their major work as the Board will need electronic copies if the works are nominated for the Young Writers Showcase. Journals are not part of the selection process.

Finally, students, parents and school staff are reminded that nomination for an HSC showcase does not indicate a particular mark for the student's major work or performance.

There are many factors involved in the final selection for a showcase event or exhibition, for example: the ability to transport a major project; the suitability of a performance for a particular kind of stage; the need to show a mix of performances or projects that demonstrate the scope of the relevant syllabus; the inclusion of students from locations around NSW.

Most importantly, there are limits on the number of performances or works that can be included in any one year. Inevitably, there are many outstanding students who are not nominated or, having been nominated, are not selected for the final showcase.

Additional advice about procedures and submission dates will be listed on the Board's Showcases and Exhibitions website as the information becomes available.

Subscribe to the Board's newsfeed and bookmark the showcases you're interested in to make sure you receive the latest information as soon as it's available.

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The NSW Higher School Certificate is a huge operation with many, many people, papers and processes all leading to the final results.

Each year at this time, as the start of Year 12 in Term 4 draws close, many Year 11 students and their parents send us questions about how parts of the HSC work.

For example, what is moderation? How do you check your assessment ranking? Who sets the exams?

To help you understand how all these parts come together, we've put together a new web-based description of How Your HSC Works.

Breaking the process up into nine big steps, How Your HSC Works will walk you through from Step 1, being eligible to start the HSC in Term 4, to the final Step 9 where results are delivered before Christmas the following year.

In between, the steps describe such things as where exam papers come from and where they go and how we know exactly where each student's marks are at any time.

And just as some people only want to know how to drive a car, while others also want to understand the fuel injection system, there are different levels of information in each of the nine steps.

The most important summaries are on each main step page, but many links are included to take you deeper into the more technical or comprehensive descriptions you might want to read.

And if you like factoids - we have those too.

Where else would you find out that a gathering of all the HSC students, markers, supervisors and support staff would fill the Sydney Olympic Stadium?

Or that in the Class of 2009, Nguyen is the second most common surname and Daniel Brown is the most common first and last name combination?

Designed with Year 11 students in mind, we think How Your HSC Works will be useful for other readers with an interest in how many checks and balances are in place to guarantee the quality of the final results.

We're planning to build on this bank of information for students, parents and teachers in a range of ways, so please send your comments and ideas to us at information@bos.nsw.edu.au.

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Read the letter in today's Sydney Morning Herald.

On the contrary, special provisions for exams are fair. (Links to external site, Sydney Morning Herald.)

Frequently Asked Questions for students on special exam provisions.

More information about special exam provisions.