Students who plan on choosing the VCE pathway must study mainstream English as part of the Year 10 program. It is a challenging but rewarding year in English that adds layers of complexity to the way that students engage with the texts they read. They are encouraged to think in new ways about the world around them through the texts that they encounter.

Shifting from junior to senior school, English now focuses on the reading and writing skills that will prepare students for VCE success. This includes the study of film, novels, plays and memoirs. Students continue to engage in a range of writing styles as they study the set texts, such as creative responses and personal reflections. Units of work will culminate in formal analytical essays. Students will find that the set texts in Year 10 become more complex in both the style of writing, and the themes that they explore.

In line with the areas of study in VCE, students also complete a unit of work reading and analysing persuasive media texts, as well as a unit developing their own persuasive point of view on a topic for an oral presentation.

Students who do intend to follow a VCE pathway may alternatively choose Foundation English in Year 10. This locks students into a VCE Vocational Major pathway. This course focuses on building the explicit literacy skills that students will need to be confident and successful members of the workforce.

Foundation English continues to include the study of set texts, but also engages in different writing and communicating styles in line with the VCE Vocational Major Literacy program in Years 11 and 12. These include personal reflections, debating points of view and persuasive texts.