Levelling the HSC playing field, one subject at a time
The NSW Department of Education will offer 11 challenging HSC subjects to all public school students via online learning starting next year. This aims to address inequities faced by students in disadvantaged or metropolitan schools who previously lacked access due to staffing, enrollment, or scheduling issues. The move is expected to boost participation in rigorous academic courses and provide access to specialist teachers through Aurora College.
- ▪Eleven advanced HSC subjects, including mathematics extension 2 and English extension 2, will be available online to all public school students.
- ▪Students in metropolitan areas previously did not have access to online subject options despite facing timetable or staffing constraints.
- ▪The policy addresses declining enrolments in demanding courses, with only 693 public school students taking English extension 2 last year.
- ▪Access to specialist teachers through Aurora College is expected to improve the quality of instruction for students in remote or under-resourced schools.
- ▪The initiative follows the rollout of High Performance and Gifted Education programs aimed at supporting academically talented students.
- ▪Regional and rural students already had access to online courses, but metropolitan students did not until now.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","dateModified":"2026-05-17T09:30:00Z","datePublished":"2026-05-17T09:30:00Z","description":"Students locked out of challenging subjects will have better opportunities next year.","headline":"Levelling the HSC playing field, one subject at a time","keywords":"HSC, Just in, Opinion, For subscribers, Education, Campus NSW","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Herald's…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Sydney Morning Herald.