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Year 10 · HASS · Western Australian Curriculum
Year 10 HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences) brings the story up to living memory: World War II, the fight for rights and freedoms in Australia, and the forces still shaping the world your child will inherit. It is also the year that decides whether subjects like Modern History, Geography, Economics or Politics and Law make the Year 11 shortlist.
Where Year 10 sits in the journey
Year 10 completes the compulsory HASS journey. History covers World War II, from the campaigns that involved Australians to the Holocaust and the home front, then turns to the post-war decades: the struggle for rights and freedoms, including the campaigns of First Nations Australians, and the migration that helped reshape the nation. Geography weighs environmental change and management alongside the question of why human wellbeing varies so much between places. Economics examines how living standards are measured and how governments manage the economy, while civics compares Australia's democracy with other systems and asks how it is kept healthy. Everything points forward to senior school.
What the curriculum covers
History
World War II and its aftermath: the fall of Singapore, Kokoda, the home front, the Holocaust and the atomic bomb. Then rights and freedoms: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the long campaigns of First Nations Australians, including the 1967 referendum. Post-war migration and Australia's place in a globalising world round out the year. This is history your child's grandparents lived.
Geography
Environmental change and management: how people alter environments and what responsible management looks like. Then human wellbeing: why quality of life differs so sharply between and within countries, and what can close the gap.
Economics and Business
How economic performance and living standards are measured, how governments try to manage the economy, and how economic decisions ripple through ordinary lives. Excellent preparation for senior Economics.
Civics and Citizenship
Australia's democracy held up against other systems of government, the safeguards that keep it working, and Australia's role in the international community. Your child leaves compulsory HASS knowing how their country runs.
HASS skills
Research, source evaluation and essay writing at a near senior-school standard. By the end of Year 10, a capable HASS student can build a sustained, evidence-based argument, which is precisely what ATAR humanities courses demand.
This year, your child will
Year 10 HASS is the audition for senior humanities. Modern History, Geography, Economics, Politics and Law and other Year 11 courses all draw directly on what is built this year, and subject selection conversations go very differently for a student who finished Year 10 HASS strong. Beyond school, this is the year a young Australian learns the recent history of their own country, including chapters that demand honesty, and that knowledge shapes the citizen they become.
How Sorsa supports Year 10 HASS
Study at home tracks the Year 10 WA achievement standards, keeping preparation squarely aligned with what schools assess.
Material spans from rebuilding shaky foundations to extension worthy of a future ATAR student, so the next step is always there.
Progress is visible as it happens, which makes subject selection conversations easier because you know where your child truly stands.
Questions parents ask
History covers World War II and the post-war struggle for rights and freedoms, including First Nations campaigns such as the 1967 referendum. Geography weighs environmental change against human wellbeing, economics examines living standards and government economic management, and civics compares Australia's democracy with other systems.
No marks from Year 10 count towards an ATAR, but the year matters enormously. Senior humanities courses assume the skills and knowledge Year 10 builds, and schools use Year 10 results when advising which ATAR or General courses suit your child.
OLNA assesses literacy and numeracy, not HASS content, but the connection is real: the sustained reading and structured writing HASS demands are exactly the literacy skills OLNA measures. A student writing solid HASS essays is usually well placed for the OLNA writing component.
WA offers senior courses including Modern History, Ancient History, Geography, Economics, Politics and Law, and Business Management and Enterprise, across ATAR and General pathways. Year 10 HASS is the shared foundation for all of them, which is why finishing it strong keeps every door open.
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HASS in other years
More Year 10 subjects