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NSW Education Standards Authority

11–12English Standard 11–12 Syllabus

Record of changes
Implementation from 2026
Expand for detailed implementation advice

Overview

Course description

Course structure and requirements

Course numbers:

  • English Standard (Year 11, 2 units): TBA
  • English Standard (Year 12, 2 units): TBA

Exclusions:

  • English Advanced (Year 11, 2 units): TBA
  • English Advanced (Year 12, 2 units): TBA
  • English EAL/D (Year 11, 2 units): TBA
  • English EAL/D (Year 12, 2 units): TBA
  • English Extension (Year 11, 1 unit): TBA
  • English Extension 1 (Year 12, 1 unit): TBA
  • English Extension 2 (Year 12, 1 unit): TBA
  • English Studies (Year 11, 2 units): TBA
  • English Studies (Examination) (Year 12, 2 units): TBA
  • English Life Skills (Year 11, 2 units): TBA
  • English Life Skills (Year 12, 2 units): TBA
Year 11 course structure and requirements
English Standard Year 11 course (120 hours)Indicative hours
Reading to write: Transition to English Standard40
Contemporary possibilities40
Close study of literature40

For the English Standard Year 11 course, students are required to:

  • complete 120 indicative hours
  • complete Reading to write: Transition to English Standard as the first unit of work
  • complete Contemporary possibilities and Close study of literature.

Text requirements

There are no prescribed texts for Year 11.

Students are required to study ONE complex multimodal or digital text in Contemporary possibilities. This may include the study of film.

Students are required to study ONE substantial literary print text in Close study of literature, for example prose fiction, drama or a poetry text, which may constitute a selection of poems from the work of ONE poet.

Across Stage 6, the selection of texts must give students experience of:

  • texts that are widely regarded as quality literature
  • a range of Australian texts
  • a range of texts authored by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples
  • a range of types of texts inclusive of prose fiction, drama, poetry, nonfiction, film, media and digital texts
  • texts with a range of social, cultural and gender perspectives
  • integrated modes of reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing and representing, where appropriate.
Year 12 course structure and requirements
English Standard Year 12 course (120 hours)Indicative hours
Texts and human experiences30
Language, identity and culture30
Close study of literature30
The craft of writing30

For the English Standard Year 12 course, students are required to:

  • complete the Year 11 course as a prerequisite
  • complete 120 indicative hours
  • complete Texts and human experiences as the first unit of work
  • complete Language, identity and culture, Close study of literature and The craft of writing.

Text requirements

Students are required to closely study 3 prescribed texts, with ONE drawn from each of the following categories:

  • prose fiction
  • poetry
  • drama OR film OR media OR nonfiction.

Across Stage 6, the selection of texts must give students experience of:

  • texts that are widely regarded as quality literature
  • a range of Australian texts
  • a range of texts authored by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples
  • a range of types of texts inclusive of prose fiction, drama, poetry, nonfiction, film, media and digital texts
  • texts with a range of social, cultural and gender perspectives
  • integrated modes of reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing and representing, as appropriate.

Texts authored by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples

Across Stage 6, the study of a range of texts authored by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples should consider:

  • the artistic and Cultural value of these texts, including ideas, arguments and representations of identity, Histories and Cultures
  • how Country/Place, Community and lived experiences shape the perspectives of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Storytellers and audiences
  • ethical responsibilities surrounding Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) in the production of texts
  • how Storytelling, Aboriginal Languages and Aboriginal English are expressions of Culture, identity and Customary practices
  • how the modes of these texts may recognise and contribute to Cultural conventions or practices of oral Storytelling
  • how Cultural symbolism, imagery, allusion and irony are used to shape meaning
  • how personal values and perspectives are broadened and reconsidered through engagement with these texts
  • texts that originate from a range of diverse Communities.