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Deciding between SLR, PDHPE (Health and Movement Science) or Music 1 (1 Viewer)

Glubglub

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Hello!
I am a math/science kid in Year 10 deciding my subjects in less than a month who HATES writing and am avoiding writing subjects like the plague. I currently have 11 units and am deciding for my last 1 or 2. Here are my definite subjects.

Math Extension 1 (accelerated)
English Advanced
Biology
Chemistry
SOR 2 (have to do religion at my school :rolleyes:)

At the moment I am deciding between SLR, PDHPE and Music 1, though I am open to other suggestions for non-writing subjects.
PDHPE pros:
  • Interesting content
  • Useful for my dream to be a physiotherapist
PDHPE cons:
  • Content heavy apparently and I am worried about workload for Year 11, especially with me taking the math HSC next year
  • 12 markers. I've heard you have to write 2-4 pages for these, and there are like, 4 of them in one exam
SLR pros:
  • Easy and provides a nice little outlet for my stress as well as a break from my other subjects
  • I enjoy being physically active
SLR cons:
  • I know people who have said they hated (they didn't specify why)
  • I really haven't heard much about it
  • I haven't heard of people who want a high ATAR doing it
Music 1 pros:
  • Also provides a bit of an outlet
  • I'm good at theory and okay at playing clarinet (the last exam I did was grade 4, but that was many years ago and I'm sure I've improved. The last piece I performed was at grade 7 level, but it took FOREVER to learn)
Music 1 cons:
  • Music isn't exactly my PASSION. I enjoy doing it, but I'm not obsessed with it
  • I've heard you have to practice for 30 mins to 1 hour a day, which i really don't have time for
  • I don't like the stress of choosing a piece that is not too easy that you don't get good marks but not too hard that you can't learn it in time
  • I get stage fright really bad
I'm also worried because I don't necessarily plan to take any of these subjects into year 12 (unless I end up being really good at it). This could mean that I don't have enough units if I want to drop something else or if I don't end up taking Extension 2 math like I planned. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 

Neogotmyback

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If your dream is to be a physio, pdhpe might be useful in giving you a taste for what its like. Music might also be a good choice if you want a creative outlet. Dont stress too much about stage fright, performing is a skill and it gets easy very quickly. Additionally, you can always switch in the first few weeks of year 11.
 

jonolad69

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just shit topics now and you have to do depth studies

its gonna be way harder, your teachers are gonna have no clue how to give you feedback or teach it

new exam format
 

Glubglub

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just shit topics now and you have to do depth studies

its gonna be way harder, your teachers are gonna have no clue how to give you feedback or teach it

new exam format
Have you heard anything about SLR? Do people who take it enjoy it?
 

carrotsss

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slr is just a bludge for if you have nothing else to put in that subject spot, it can’t go towards your ATAR. imo unless you are 1000% sure with the rest of your subject choices it’s worth taking another atar subject that you might possibly enjoy to give yourself the flexibility to drop a subject in year 12 rather than locking yourself into your units, it’s less of an issue if u take ext 2 since that’d bring you up to 12 but it’s nice to have that option generally
 

EP10123k

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Do not pick Advanced English, it would not be really relevant for a job like that. I am thinking of doing sport science in Uni and am in Year 10 as well.
I am picking:
Advanced Maths (You could pick Extension if you want to)
Standard English (Would not recommend Advanced for a sports related job)
Biology (Important subject that would help)
Chemistry (A prerequisite to most sport science courses like the one at UNSW)
SOR 1 (SOR 2 is too much and will have to deal will Islam, not bothered with that. The exam is also 3 hours so good luck to people who choose this)
Health and Movement Science (previously known as PDHPE, is important for sport related jobs like a Physiotherapist)
SLR 1 (just a 'bludge' like @carrotsss said to fill in a missing unit)

What I would do if I were you:
Advanced Maths
Extension 1 Maths
Standard English
Biology
Chemistry (A prerequisite)
Health and Movement Science (Could drop in year 12 if you don't like it as year 12 has a minimum of 10 units, not 12)
SOR 1 (RE is compulsory in a catholic school)

Don't choose slr as it is PE at a lower level and would be good for people wanting become a coach in the gym, but do not suit a higher level sports job like a physiotherapist. I hope you found this useful!

Also: If you have discord, message me at uerktmvincents for more questions. I am on a similar journey to you. I would like to know, what sport do you do? I do athletics, particularly the 100m and 200m.
 
Last edited:

Glubglub

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Do not pick Advanced English, it would not be really relevant for a job like that. I am thinking of doing sport science in Uni and am in Year 10 as well.
I am picking:
Advanced Maths (You could pick Extension if you want to)
Standard English (Would not recommend Advanced for a sports related job)
Biology (Important subject that would help)
Chemistry (A prerequisite to most sport science courses like the one at UNSW)
SOR 1 (SOR 2 is too much and will have to deal will Islam, not bothered with that. The exam is also 3 hours so good luck to people who choose this)
Health and Movement Science (previously known as PDHPE, is important for sport related jobs like a Physiotherapist)
SLR 1 (just a 'bludge' like @carrotsss said to fill in a missing unit)

What I would do if I were you:
Advanced Maths
Extension 1 Maths
Standard English
Biology
Chemistry (A prerequisite)
Health and Movement Science (Could drop in year 12 if you don't like it as year 12 has a minimum of 10 units, not 12)
SOR 1 (English is compulsory in a catholic school)

Don't choose slr as it is PE at a lower level and would be good for people wanting become a coach in the gym, but do not suit a higher level sports job like a physiotherapist. I hope you found this useful!

Also: If you have discord, message me at uerktmvincents for more questions. I am on a similar journey to you. I would like to know, what sport do you do? I do athletics, particularly the 100m and 200m.
All really good advice, that pretty much mirrors my current thought process. Thanks for the help. But I am worried about the scaling of taking standard english. Apparently only 1% of people in standard english get a band 6? Also I just sent a friend request on Discord.
 
Last edited:

jonolad69

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All really good advice, that pretty much mirrors my current thought process. Thanks for the help. But I am worried about the scaling of taking standard english. Apparently only 1% of people in standard english get a band 6? Also I just sent a friend request on Discord.
don’t listen to this stupid advice talking about “don’t do advanced English”

his reasoning makes 0 sense Lmfao
 

EP10123k

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@jonolad69 explain to me why she should do advanced english and not focus more on subjects that are relevant to her like bio, chem, maths and pe. Those subjects will be more useful for her if she wants to become a physio and picking standard english will allow her to specialise in bio, chem and maths. Bro is acting like year 11 and 12 is easy, it is not. Standard English will just build foundational writing skills for those subjects like biology. Doing well in Standard English would be better than doing alright in Advanced English in my opinion and English requires a lot of prep anyways. If she hates English as a subject anyways, why not choose standard? It makes the most sense in my opinion @jonolad69. Haters gonna hate.
 

jonolad69

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when have I ever said year 11/12 is easy? I accelerated a hsc subject and I found it to be alright.

“Your opinion” is not a valid reason by the way. I’d much prefer if you based your arguments on statistics or other quantifiable evidence.

I’’m not sure what you constitute as doing “alright” in advanced or “well” in standard. Standard English is objectively worse than english advanced 9.99999/10 times.

also it’s ironic how you have all of these opinions yet haven’t even sat a single prelim or hsc exam.

and finally, what’s wrong with me being a hater?
 

A.Sokwala

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Do not pick music and advanced english, no need to do/specialise in subjects that you will not be doing once you finish high school. I recommend that you pick standard as it requires way less prep. Don't be one-sided in thinking and only caring about the atar. Develop skills and try to specialise in subjects that will actually be useful in your future endeavours. Trust me, doing this would boost your results in your 'main' subjects. Since your job is science related, advanced english and music have nothing to do with it. The atar is not just calculated based on your results in english. Plus, you are planning to do extension 1 maths, which is a very demanding course. Also, make sure not to pick subjects like legal and history as these subjects also do not have a good transfer in increasing scientific knowledge. The last time I checked, advanced english was not a prerequisite in any science-related course in uni. Don't just be an all-rounder and instead try to specialise at every moment possible. This is what gets you way more ahead in life. Hope this advice helps
 

iloveeggs

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Hello!
I am a math/science kid in Year 10 deciding my subjects in less than a month who HATES writing and am avoiding writing subjects like the plague. I currently have 11 units and am deciding for my last 1 or 2. Here are my definite subjects.

Math Extension 1 (accelerated)
English Advanced
Biology
Chemistry
SOR 2 (have to do religion at my school :rolleyes:)

At the moment I am deciding between SLR, PDHPE and Music 1, though I am open to other suggestions for non-writing subjects.
PDHPE pros:
  • Interesting content
  • Useful for my dream to be a physiotherapist
PDHPE cons:
  • Content heavy apparently and I am worried about workload for Year 11, especially with me taking the math HSC next year
  • 12 markers. I've heard you have to write 2-4 pages for these, and there are like, 4 of them in one exam
SLR pros:
  • Easy and provides a nice little outlet for my stress as well as a break from my other subjects
  • I enjoy being physically active
SLR cons:
  • I know people who have said they hated (they didn't specify why)
  • I really haven't heard much about it
  • I haven't heard of people who want a high ATAR doing it
Music 1 pros:
  • Also provides a bit of an outlet
  • I'm good at theory and okay at playing clarinet (the last exam I did was grade 4, but that was many years ago and I'm sure I've improved. The last piece I performed was at grade 7 level, but it took FOREVER to learn)
Music 1 cons:
  • Music isn't exactly my PASSION. I enjoy doing it, but I'm not obsessed with it
  • I've heard you have to practice for 30 mins to 1 hour a day, which i really don't have time for
  • I don't like the stress of choosing a piece that is not too easy that you don't get good marks but not too hard that you can't learn it in time
  • I get stage fright really bad
I'm also worried because I don't necessarily plan to take any of these subjects into year 12 (unless I end up being really good at it). This could mean that I don't have enough units if I want to drop something else or if I don't end up taking Extension 2 math like I planned. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
hey ik you said you hate writing but unfortunately literacy is a key skill you need for a lot of subjects in the HSC including the ones you are set on and also a key skill for university and further studies. of course if you hate it so much you could try and pick subjects that dont really involve writing or something but ultimately you will have to write stuff at some level for any subject in y11 and 12. even for VA and drama often they require written justifications and things like that so you will have writing no matter what and it has to be good in order for you to access good marks.

rn your choices are accelerated math e1 (3u), eng adv (2u), bio (2u), chem (2u), sor 2 (2u). so in total 11 units already. i think they are solid choices but i have a few things to say
  • english advanced will get you to write loads ngl. goign for standard might make it better idk but it will cost you dearly in terms of scaling unfortunately. unless you know you are motivated enough to write essays and stuff like that for standard english and do very well (like 90s/band 6s) it will not contribute to your atar to the same extent as a more average performance in english advanced
  • you are already at 11 units. despite what you might think its not easy to handle 12+ units especially when you are accelerating and doing multiple sciences, take it from me (you can see my subjects in my signature). do you really need to do another subject??? if you are required to by your school maybe ask if you could get an exception. please make sure you don't overestimate what you can handle and do well in ngl. i made that mistake and im now paying the price in y11.
  • sor II is a writting subject - anything hsie is a writing subject. and like you said you have to do it. it doesnt matter how but try to identify why you hate writitng so much and try to fix it? at least for sor's sake lol
if you really really have to or want to take another subject and you HAVE to pick out of the options you provided: PDHPE or SLR sounds best. SLR sounds like a better fit for you personally in terms of the writing stuff or whatever but if you have a higher ATAR goal PDHPE is better. Music is too unrelated and a lot of stress - its smth you should pick if you are already somewhat musically inclined and a good performer not smth to do for funsies imo

but also do you really have to take PDHPE/SLR?? you should be aware it is not necessary to pick subjects that are relevant to your future goals and also dont overestimate how much they will help in uni bc it will be very very minimal.
 

iloveeggs

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Do not pick music and advanced english, no need to do/specialise in subjects that you will not be doing once you finish high school. I recommend that you pick standard as it requires way less prep. Don't be one-sided in thinking and only caring about the atar. Develop skills and try to specialise in subjects that will actually be useful in your future endeavours. Trust me, doing this would boost your results in your 'main' subjects. Since your job is science related, advanced english and music have nothing to do with it. The atar is not just calculated based on your results in english. Plus, you are planning to do extension 1 maths, which is a very demanding course. Also, make sure not to pick subjects like legal and history as these subjects also do not have a good transfer in increasing scientific knowledge. The last time I checked, advanced english was not a prerequisite in any science-related course in uni. Don't just be an all-rounder and instead try to specialise at every moment possible. This is what gets you way more ahead in life. Hope this advice helps
agreed - i should probably clarify abt the eng adv stuff i said. scaling and marks do not ultimately matter this is only if you're an ultra competitive individual who wants a top atar or smth like that. you should 100% focus on your strengths for sure
 

A.Sokwala

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Bro, quit yapping about things you also don't know about as you will also be completing the hsc in the year 2026. Advanced english would only be better if you love english and want to pursue a job relating to arts, humanities etc. (not science, maths).

https://boredofstudies.org/threads/...iller-and-should-i-do-advance-instead.387724/

If you look at this forum, you would realise that people can get a high atar with standard english. Look at both sides of the story instead of being one-sided in thinking.
 

jonolad69

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Do not pick music and advanced english, no need to do/specialise in subjects that you will not be doing once you finish high school. I recommend that you pick standard as it requires way less prep. Don't be one-sided in thinking and only caring about the atar. Develop skills and try to specialise in subjects that will actually be useful in your future endeavours. Trust me, doing this would boost your results in your 'main' subjects. Since your job is science related, advanced english and music have nothing to do with it. The atar is not just calculated based on your results in english. Plus, you are planning to do extension 1 maths, which is a very demanding course. Also, make sure not to pick subjects like legal and history as these subjects also do not have a good transfer in increasing scientific knowledge. The last time I checked, advanced english was not a prerequisite in any science-related course in uni. Don't just be an all-rounder and instead try to specialise at every moment possible. This is what gets you way more ahead in life. Hope this advice helps
what is it with these year 10s who have 0 hscor uni experience giving advice

insane 😂 😂😂😂😂
 

A.Sokwala

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Bro, quit yapping about things you also don't know about as you will also be completing the hsc in the year 2026. Advanced english would only be better if you love english and want to pursue a job relating to arts, humanities etc. (not science, maths).

https://boredofstudies.org/threads/...iller-and-should-i-do-advance-instead.387724/

If you look at this forum, you would realise that people can get a high atar with standard english. Look at both sides of the story instead of being one-sided in thinking.
 

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