Students may choose English, English Language or Literature to satisfy the English requirements of their VCE program. 

In general, PHSC recommends that students research and choose subjects that interest them. The school does not recommend that students focus on study score and ATAR calculations and predictions, as in general students do better and maintain the motivation required for success in VCE when they are enrolled in subjects that they are most passionate about.

However, the choice of English subject can have significant consequences for students for the following reasons:

• Almost all tertiary courses have a prerequisite of a raw study score in an English. A study score below 25 in this subject will impact the tertiary choices that a student has available to them, and a study score below 20 will significantly impact the tertiary choices available.
• These tertiary cut-offs are raw scores, rather than the scaled scores that contribute to ATARs.
• In any study, 22% of the cohort will receive a raw study score below 25, and 7% will receive a raw study score below 20 (VCAA)
• English, English Language and Literature have very different cohorts. In 2020, approximately 40,000 students enrolled in English, while less than 4,000 students enrolled in each of English Language and Literature.
• As an essentially compulsory subject, the English cohort is made up of a wide variety of students of mixed ability; while English Language and Literature each have a significantly smaller, generally more academically capable niche cohort.
• The result of these demographics means that is more likely that a student enrolled in English Language or Literature will score in the bottom 22% of the state wide cohort and receive a study score below 25 as a result. This may mean the student does not meet the English prerequisite for their preferred tertiary course.
• Also as a result of these demographics, English Language and Literature study scores generally scale up, while English scores scale down. In 2020, a student who received a 35 in English and a student who received a 30 in English Language would have both received a scaled score of 33 in their ATAR.

It is important that students add this information into the mix when choosing their English subject. PHSC recommends that students:

1. Seriously look at the differing curriculum between the subjects. Some students choose English Language because they don’t want to read books. This is not a good reason! English Language includes the reading and analysis of numerous shorter texts. You need to be actually interested in English Language rather than wanting to avoid reading books.
2. Select English in addition to Literature if they wish to study Literature
3. Consider their strengths in English. PHSC is implementing a recommendation that only students with a Year 10 average above 80% consider choosing English Language or Literature as their VCE English subject.