QCE Sciences Units 1–4

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Queensland’s favourite QCE science resources have been carefully aligned to the 2025 General Senior Syllabuses.

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A guide to the new QCE Sciences Units 1–4 General Senior Syllabuses 2025 (Version 1.1)

This guide has been produced by the expert team of science teachers, authors, and learning designers at Oxford University Press Australia.

It contains a clear, concise summary of the key changes to structure and content of the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) General Senior Syllabuses 2025 (Version 1.1) for Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Psychology and is designed to save you time and help you plan and implement the new syllabuses with confidence.

Download the full guide to view a line-by-line comparison of the 2019 and 2025 General Senior Syllabuses for these learning areas.
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Why are the QCE Sciences General Senior Syllabuses changing?

• Queensland’s current senior secondary curriculum and assessment system was implemented in 2019 as part of the Queensland Government reform, Advancing futures: New senior assessment and tertiary entrance systems in Queensland.

• To ensure all QCE General Senior Syllabuses remain relevant, align with outcomes in the new Australian Curriculum 9.0 across Years 7–10, incorporate latest research in teaching and learning, and incorporate contemporary skills needed for further study and work, all learning areas are reviewed and updated from time to time.

• The review of the QCE General Senior Syllabuses began in Term 4, 2020 and involved extensive consultation and feedback from over 8000 stakeholders (including teachers, students, parents and other educators).

• The new QCE Sciences General Senior Syllabuses 2025 (Version 1.0) were finalised in December 2023, and final documents were released in Term 1, 2024.

• The goal of the review and revisions to the syllabuses was to streamline and refine the content to allow greater depth rather than overloaded breadth of learning, as many teachers felt that the 2019 (Versions 1.0–1.3) tried to cover too much.

How is the structure of the QCE Sciences General Senior Syllabuses changing?

While the basic structure remains, there are some important structural changes to be aware of in the 2025 syllabuses:

1. Three Science strands are now clearly identified

2. There are no longer any ‘mandatory’ practicals

• The ‘mandatory’ designation has been removed from all practicals
• Practicals now appear as ‘knowledge utilisation’ cognitions in subject matter in the Science Understanding strand or Science Inquiry strand.

3. Syllabus objectives have changed and Assessment objectives for internal and external assessments are different

• The total number of syllabus objectives has been reduced from 7 to 6, and the remaining syllabus objectives have been reorganised and simplified
• The assessment objectives for each of the internal assessments (IA) and the external assessment (EA) have also changed (as outlined in the Assessment objectives column in table below).

4. Assessment information in the new syllabuses (including ISMGs) has been restructured and rewritten

• All assessment information has been revised and a simplified syllabus structure makes finding this information easier. All assessment information (including Internal and External Assessment specifications) now appears at the end of each document.
• All ISMGs have been revised to make marking clearer and distinguishing grades more equitable.
• Characteristics have been shortened, simplified and broken down to make allocating marks easier and more transparent (as shown below).

How is the content of the new QCE Sciences 2025 (Version 1.1) changing?

General changes to Units 1–4

• To reduce the time required to engage with QCE Sciences General Senior Syllabuses, they are now more concise, less repetitive and shorter overall.
• Generic content has been removed so the syllabuses only contain information relevant to designing a course of study.
• Plain language is now used throughout each syllabus simplifying the way content is communicated and making requirements easier to understand.
• A new Response requirements section ensures task requirements are clear.
• A simplified syllabus structure makes information easier to find. Each syllabus now contains three main sections:
   1. Course overview
   2. Units and Topics
   3. Assessment.
• Updated syllabus formatting improves accessibility. Using plain language also ensures the syllabuses can be understood by a diverse audience, including teachers, parents/carers and students.

Specific changes to Units 1–4 for QCE Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Psychology

To view a line-by-line comparison of the 2019 and 2025 General Senior Syllabuses for these learning areas, download the full guide below.

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When do I need to begin teaching the new QCE Sciences 2025 (Version 1.1) at my school?

All QCE Sciences General Senior Syllabuses 2025 (Version 1.1) will have a phased familiarisation and implementation across 2024–2026 as follows:


In summary:
• Implementation is mandatory from Term 1, 2025 for Units 1 & 2
• Implementation is mandatory from Term 1, 2026 for Units 3 & 4
• Students completing their end-of-year External Assessments in 2026 will be the first cohort to be assessed against the new 2025 syllabuses.

Compressed delivery
Schools delivering compressed curriculum (i.e. completing Units 1–4 in one year) should:
• Continue to deliver the 2019 syllabuses with students in 2025
• Implement the new 2025 syllabuses with students in 2026.

Download the full guide to view a line-by-line comparison of the 2019 and 2025 General Senior Syllabuses for Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Psychology.

Download guide