Students who have successfully completed their senior secondary education in the state of South Australia are given the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE).

The credential is administered by the SACE Board of South Australia (formerly known as South Australia ‘s Senior Secondary Assessment Board, or SSABSA). The SACE Board of South Australia is an independent, ISO 9001:2008-accredited statutory authority of the South Australian Government.

The SACE program is also taught in secondary schools in the Northern Territories, where it is recognised as the Certificate of Education and Training for the Northern Territory (NTCET). The South Australian Matriculation (SAM) certificate is a SACE curriculum-based certification that is administered by South Australia’s SACE Board and taught in some schools in Malaysia and China.

To get the SACE, students must gain 200 credits from a range of subjects that they take, usually over two years. Twenty credits is equal to a full year subject, while 10 credits is equal to a semester long subject. There are two phases: Stage 1, which is done in Year 11 by most students, and Stage 2, which is done in Year 12 by most students.

SACE completion is a general prerequisite for universities and technical and continuing education colleges (TAFE colleges) in South Australia, both nationally and globally. The credential also provides students who choose to take a different route into the workforce with many study choices, such as pursuing apprenticeships while still at school.

There are two stages of the SACE:

• Stage 1, which most students do in Year 11, apart from the Personal Learning Plan subject, which most students do in Year 10
• Stage 2, which most students do in Year 12.

Each subject or course successfully completed earns ‘credits’ towards the SACE, with a minimum of 200 credits required for students to gain the certificate.

Students will receive a final grade from A to E for each Stage 1 subject and A+ to E- for Stage 2 subjects. For compulsory requirements, to gain their SACE they will need to achieve:

• a C grade or better at Stage 1
• a C- grade or better at Stage 2.
• Other Stage 2 subjects totalling at least 60 credits.

The remaining 90 credits can be gained through additional Stage 1 or Stage 2 subjects or Board-recognised courses (such as VET or community learning) of a student’s choice.

Both internally (in school) and externally, SACE studies are evaluated. There is a 30 percent external evaluation for all top-tier stage 2 subjects, which can be an examination, investigation or performance.[2] As well as the mandatory subjects, the school-based evaluations of stage 2 are centrally moderated to ensure fair and accurate results.

Did you know? Adelaide was founded in 1836 as the proposed capital for a freely-settled British province in Australia, named in honor of Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, queen consort to King William IV. There is a Mediterranean climate in South Australia, with long , warm summers (250C to 350C) and cool to cold, snowless winters (100C to 150C). More than 2,500 hours of sunshine a year are provided by Adelaide, and without the humidity of other Australian cities.

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