Victorian Certificate of Education
The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is the senior secondary qualification undertaken by most students in Years 11 and 12 in Victoria, Australia.
The VCE provides pathways to tertiary education, advanced certificate courses and employment.
Students who complete the VCE offshore are eligible for an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), which can be used to apply for tertiary entrance.
VCE Offshore Program
The VCE is delivered internationally through a partnership model between Victorian education providers and selected schools offshore.
The partnership model promotes the establishment of strong relationships between teachers in Victoria and teachers offshore.
Teachers at the Victorian partner school mentor their counterparts and provide ongoing advice and support, including assistance with curriculum planning and school-based assessment.
Programs are licensed to deliver the VCE across China, Malaysia, Timor Leste, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Japan, and in Northern Territory (Australia).
In 2025, approximately 1,400 students enrolled to study the VCE offshore at Years 11 and 12. Each year, 98 per cent of graduates will embark on tertiary pathways with leading global universities, with approximately 90 per cent of graduates choosing Australia, enrolling in GO8 universities, based on student interest.
How it works
Offshore VCE providers appoint teaching staff of their choice who may be expatriate or local.
All VCE teachers offshore are required to participate in professional learning, as facilitated by their Victorian partner school, to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills to teach VCE. VCE providers in non-English speaking countries are required to provide a preparatory English language program for students.
VCE providers offshore may choose to deliver the VCE alongside the local curriculum. This enables students to continue to study for their local senior secondary qualification and the VCE at the same time.
For the successful planning, implementation and delivery of a VCE offshore program, the following frameworks need to be addressed:
- policy and vision
- curriculum and assessment
- student achievement and outcomes
- staffing and professional learning
- governance and accountability.
See VCE Offshore Organising Framework.
Program benefits
The school partnership model gives teachers the opportunity to develop their professional relationships, increase cultural capability and build their professional practice and expertise by working closely with our highly experienced local VCE teachers. Delivery of the VCE Offshore Program also contributes to your school’s international networks and understanding, and can be complemented through activities such as teacher and student exchange programs and online collaborative learning with Victorian VCE students.
92% of offshore VCE teachers say that teaching the VCE and working with a Victorian partner school has developed their teaching practice and expertise.
94% say that working with a Victorian mentor has been a valuable experience and developed their professional practice.