Four myths about ATAR and VET Perth parents should stop believing
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The hardest stretch of schooling
If your teen is dragging their feet about school, or asking “why do I even need to know this” on repeat, you are not imagining it. Years 9 and 10 are widely recognised as the hardest stretch of high school, and for families of teens who don’t fit the mainstream mould, it can feel even harder to know what to do next.
This is what parents say week after week. The school says things are fine, or manageable, but at home your teen is withdrawing, anxious, or refusing to engage at all. And underneath it all sits a bigger question nobody quite prepares you for: what happens after Year 10?
Nicole Gazey, co-founder and director of IDEAcademy, Perth’s alternative pathway program for teens who don’t do well in mainstream school, helps make sense of the senior school maze. Here’s what parents need to know before their teen has to “choose.”
Why Years 9 and 10 feel like a black hole
Years 9 and 10 sit in an awkward spot. Your teen is in the thick of identity formation and puberty, trying to work out who they are and where they belong, at exactly the same time school starts asking them to think seriously about grades, pathways, and the future.
Within school, this stage often feels like limbo. The academic expectations step up, but the relevance of what’s being taught can feel murky.
It’s common for students in this age group to experience stress, anxiety, and a creeping sense of inadequacy as they try to keep up.
Preparing students for senior schooling
Most Australian schools run a similar set of activities through Years 9 and 10: NAPLAN testing, work experience placements, timetabled career education, expos and open days, elective subjects, and course counselling sessions to prepare for senior schooling.
On paper it looks like plenty of support. In practice, the quality and depth varies enormously from school to school.
“Every school tackles this differently,” Nicole says. “Some keep the whole learning experience contained within the school gates. Others prioritise career education and build real flexibility into their timetables.
“The support your child gets often comes down to the individual school’s resources and the skill set of the staff delivering it, not just what’s written in the handbook.”
The pressure to make a choice
For a lot of 15 year olds, the pressure to “make a choice” about Years 11 and 12 brings on real overwhelm.
Some withdraw. Some push back on school altogether. If your teen is showing signs of school refusal, this pressure is often part of the picture.
Here’s the thing worth saying plainly: it is completely normal for a 15 year old not to know what they want to do with their life.
Not knowing yet is normal
The stress families feel around senior schooling often comes from treating “not knowing yet” as a problem to be solved quickly, rather than a normal part of growing up.
Parents whose kids are in mainstream school tend to lean on the school for advice. Parents who are homeschooling often have to do their own research and lean on their networks instead.
Either way, the quality of information families receive depends heavily on who they happen to ask.
Nicole’s advice is to slow down and fact check some of the assumptions floating around senior schooling, because a lot of what parents hear does not hold up.
Four myths about ATAR and VET worth retiring
Myth: An ATAR pathway is superior to a VET pathway.
They are simply built for different outcomes. ATAR courses give students a broad, theoretical grounding and are designed to feed into university entry.
Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses are developed with industry and lead to skills based, real world competency. A learner is assessed as competent once they can demonstrate a skill under real conditions, not by sitting an exam.
Most universities now recognise higher level VET study for entry into a wide range of undergraduate courses.
Myth: Choosing a non-ATAR pathway is the easy option.
It genuinely isn’t.
Students juggling VET study alongside school coursework often have to manage deadlines across multiple providers and make up school work missed while off site in training.
ATAR assessment is rigorous through standardised exams, where a pass can sit around 50 percent accuracy.
VET assessment demands 100 percent accuracy against industry benchmarks, with no partial credit for “close enough.” Different kind of hard, not an easier one.
Myth: Without an ATAR, university is off the table.
Universities have broadened their entry criteria well beyond ATAR scores. Portfolios of evidence, VET qualifications, and real world experience are increasingly recognised, because universities know some of their strongest future students take a less conventional route to get there.
Myth: If mainstream school isn't working, options are limited.
This one matters most. In Western Australia and across Australia, teens are required to be in full time education, training, or employment until 18 or the completion of Year 12, whichever comes first (check your state’s Department of Education for exact requirements).
Full time training, apprenticeships, traineeships, and homeschooling are all legitimate ways to meet this requirement, and all of them can lead to university or a skilled job.
None of them are a lesser path.
“The final two or three years of a young person’s compulsory education should be some of the most strategic and rewarding of their life,” Nicole says.
“If your child’s current setup doesn’t feel like that, it’s worth looking at what else is out there.”
IDEAcademy offers an alternative pathway program for teens who don’t do well in mainstream school.
Parents as career exploration partners
Even once senior schooling is sorted, the bigger question sits underneath everything: what does my child actually do with their life?
Nicole’s view is that the question itself is often the problem.
“Instead of asking what do you want to be when you grow up, which puts all the pressure on a single answer, ask your child how they like to work,” she says.
“Do they want to be on their feet or at a desk? Working alone or with a team? Solving problems or following a process?
“That’s a much easier conversation to have at 15, and it points them toward an industry, not a life sentence.”
The career landscape looks very different for our kids
The career landscape your teen is heading into looks very different to the one you grew up with.
Nicole says there are a few shifts that are worth knowing about as it changes the mental frame you’re working with.
Careers are no longer linear.
Young Australians today can expect around 17 different jobs and five different careers across their working life, with an average job tenure of around three years. Adaptability now matters more than a single area of expertise.
Learning doesn't stop at graduation.
Degrees and VET qualifications are increasingly stackable, with micro-credentials and skill sets making it easier to upskill or pivot later without starting from scratch.
Job creation is a real option, not just job seeking.
Entrepreneurship, freelancing, and portfolio careers are increasingly supported through incubators, accelerators, and government grants for young people with a niche talent or business idea.
Transferable skills carry real weight.
Communication, problem solving, adaptability, and teamwork are now viewed by employers as being just as predictive of success as technical skill.
A personal brand matters early.
A simple resume, LinkedIn profile, or portfolio can help a young person show what they can do, not just what they’ve studied.
Where to go for support
You don’t need to have all the answers yourself. There are solid, free resources built for exactly this stage:
🔗 myfuture – an Australian Government platform with career quizzes, occupation profiles, and pathway information
🔗 Jobs and Skills Australia – detailed occupation and industry data, including growth trends and required qualifications
🔗 The Good Careers Guide – career profiles and education pathways
🔗 Skillsroad – career quiz, job descriptions, apprenticeship and traineeship advice
🔗 Study Work Grow – career exploration tools alongside scholarship and open day updates
And above all, real world experience beats research every time. Work experience, casual jobs, job shadowing, and simply talking to people already working in a field of interest all give your teen something a website can’t: a genuine feel for whether a path is right for them.
What to do next
If your teen is in Year 9 or 10 and the current school setup isn’t landing well, or you’ve been homeschooling and are weighing up options for senior years, know that there are more solid pathways available than the mainstream narrative suggests.
Staying at school can be a great option. So can training, an apprenticeship, or an alternative program built specifically for teens who need a different environment to do their best learning, like IDEAcademy.
A few things worth holding onto as you go:
1️⃣ It’s normal for a teen not to know what they want to do yet. That’s not a red flag, it’s a starting point for exploration.
2️⃣ The choice between VET and a degree depends on the field and type of work your child wants, not which one is “better.”
3️⃣ Encourage exploration over certainty in these final years of compulsory schooling. Informed decisions come from trying things, not just thinking about them.
4️⃣ Reach out, ask questions, and don’t rely on assumptions about what your child’s options are.
This article draws on insights from Nicole Gazey, co-founder and director of IDEAcademy, and is intended for general information only. It isn’t a substitute for personalised advice from your child’s school or a qualified career counsellor.
