VCE Tutoring: Everything You Need to Know

VCE is a pivotal moment in students' academic journeys where they have to go through two years of continuous study which serve as the capstone of all their studies. To earn a qualification that will allow them to apply for further studies like universities and bachelor's degrees.

For many students, this brings unimaginable pressure and performance expectation that sometimes can only be met by getting external help.

This help oftentimes comes in the shape of tutoring or finding tutoring lessons outside of regular school hours in order to have a better understanding of what the VCE curriculum and specific VCE subjects are about.

If you are interested in diving into the VCE tutoring world, keep reading to find out more about the VCE, the different studies you can teach and how Superprof can help you reach more students!

About the VCE

The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is one of the qualifications you can get if you finish Year 11 and 12 at high school in Victoria. After completing the VCE students get an ATAR score to use to apply for university.

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is calculated by the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) from students' study scores.

There are more than 90 VCE subjects (also called 'studies' or 'units'). VCE students usually do 20 to 24 subjects over two years from Year 11 to Year 12. Year 11 is often called Unit 1/2 of the VCE, while Year 12 is called Unit 3/4.

When picking subjects for VCE, students need to think about:

• What they are interested in
• What they are good at
• What jobs they can have with the specific subjects they are interested in
• If the subject prepares them for training or tertiary courses they want to do.

To earn the VCE, students must satisfactorily complete at least 16 units.

Regardless of how many units they do altogether, they must satisfactorily complete:

• At least three units from the English group listed below:
  • Foundation English Units 1 and 2
  • English Units 1 to 4
  • English as an Additional Language (EAL) Units 3 and 4
  • English Language Units 1 to 4
  • Literature Units 1 to 4
• Three units from the English group, including a Unit 3–4 sequence
• Three sequences of Unit 3 and 4 studies in addition to the sequence chosen from the English group. These sequences can be from VCE studies and/or VCE VET programs.

Also, it is important to note that students who intend to apply for tertiary entrance at the end of their VCE, they will need to be aware that the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre has additional requirements for the calculation of the ATAR.

How to Become a VCE English Tutor?

As stated above, English is one of the obligatory courses that students must partake in as part of their VCE. English is a highly technical area of study that considers the formal systems and structures of language, as well as the way language is used to perform various social functions. Ultimately, successful English students learn to balance intricate grammatical knowledge with a meaningful and detailed discussion of ideas.

Currently, as part of this study, students are expected to perfect their written and writing skills, as well as understand how to debate properly and express ideas in a clear manner.

If you are interested in becoming a VCE English tutor you can head to our guide for VCE English here.

How to Dive Into Maths Tutoring?

Students study Mathematics in Years 11 and 12 as per the Victorian Certificate of Education. However, it's worth noting that maths, unlike English, isn't compulsory and can be dropped by students after Year 10.

This study is designed to provide access to worthwhile and challenging mathematical learning in a way that takes into account the interests, needs, dispositions and aspirations of a wide range of students, and introduces them to key aspects of the discipline. It is also designed to promote students’ awareness of the importance of mathematics in everyday life in a technological society and to develop confidence and the disposition to make effective use of mathematical concepts, processes and skills in practical and theoretical contexts.

Alternate subjects provide for a range of student needs and abilities. As maths is learned and taught sequentially, students are required to follow pathways in order to access required knowledge and skills.

This is the structure of VCE Maths that you will need to take into consideration for your maths tutoring:

UNITS 1 and 2

• Foundation Mathematics: This subject provides for the continuing mathematical development of students entering VCE needing mathematical skills to support their other VCE subjects such as VET.
• General Mathematics: The main areas of study are Arithmetic, Data Analysis and Simulation, Algebra, Graphs of Linear and Non-Linear Functions, Decision and Business Mathematics, Geometry and Trigonometry.
• General Mathematical Methods: The main areas of study are Probability, Matrices, Permutations and Combinations.
• Mathematical Methods CAS: The main areas of study are Functions and Graphs, Algebra, Calculus and Probability and Statistics.
• Specialist Mathematics: The areas of study include Algebra and Structure, Arithmetic and Number, Discrete Mathematics, Geometry, Measurement and Trigonometry, Graphs of Relations and Statistics.

UNITS 3 and 4

• Further Mathematics: This subject has a compulsory study of ‘Data analysis’ and ‘Recursion and financial modelling in Unit 3. In Unit 4 two of the following four modules must be selected: Matrices, Networks and Decision Mathematics, Geometry and Measurement and Graphs and Relations.
• Further/Methods Mathematics: This stream of Further Mathematics enables students to complete Units 3 and 4 Further Mathematics in year 10 or year 11.
• Mathematical Methods CAS: This subject consists of Functions and Graphs, Calculus, Algebra, Probability and Statistics.
• Specialist Mathematics Unit 3 and 4: This subject consists of Functions and Graphs, Algebra, Calculus, Vectors, Mechanics and Probability and Statistics.

If you want to dive into maths tutoring learn more in our specific VCE Maths article.

VCE Science Tutoring

Next, we have the core sciences: biology, chemistry and physics. The sciences complement one another and therefore it is highly recommended to pick more than one. In some cases, they even have overlapping topics.

The sciences have a significant workload and will require a large amount of memory work for students. They should be careful when planning to do all 3 in one year. The sciences provide a great opportunity to scale and often make up pre-requisites for many university courses, although usually taking one is sufficient to meet requirements for most universities.

As part of the Science study, students can also look into learning about Psychology and Environmental Sciences.

If you are interested in teaching VCE Science, check out our VCE science article!

Qualifications to Become a VCE Tutor

With more and more students completing the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) every year, the VCE marketplace for tutors is becoming a growing and highly competitive environment.

But what makes a good tutor? Potential students lack knowledge of important factors such as tutors’ teaching and communication skills, as well as their reliability and motivation for tutoring. And this is where you come in.

First of all, you will need to have a good level of knowledge about the VCE subject you are teaching in your tutorials since this will be key to helping them reach their goals.

Other things that tutors oftentimes list as part of their qualifications and experience are: ATARs, years of tutoring experience, past student performance, university subjects, scholarships, awards and participation in competitions such as International Olympiads.

In today’s VCE tutor marketplace, tutors must build a desirable academic reputation for themselves to attract more students. The private tutors with the highest demand tend to be former students with the highest VCE results. Many students are requesting private tutoring services from these tutors to boost their study scores and ATARs.

If you want to learn more about the qualifications to become a VCE tutor, head to our becoming a VCE tutor article!

Become a VCE Tutor with Superprof

Finally, if you want to become a VCE tutor but don't know where the best place to find potential students is, we have the best solution for you: Superprof!

Superprof is a platform designed to connect tutors from all over Australia with students who are looking to better their skills in a certain subject.

Currently, with VCE tutoring being in such high demand, it is no wonder that more and more people are looking to connect through our platform. And you can be one of them!

All you need to do is set up your tutoring profile, share your professional experience and skills and set an hourly rate based on your experience, location and competitive advantages. You can also state whether you are comfortable with teaching online.

Once you have your full profile set up, it will be time to start receiving requests from potential students. Most tutors offer their first tuition or lesson for free since it is a good way to discuss tuition methods and the best way to approach studying with each student.

Make sure that you discuss things like price, location of the service or tuition as well as the learning path and methods you will follow to help them achieve their ATAR score goals.

The world of private tutoring awaits. It's time to set up your full profile and deliver your first lesson with Superprof.