in stage 6, or years 11 and 12, students prepare for the higher school certificate (hsc), which certifies the completion of high school in new south wales. in order to satisfy requirements for the hsc, each student must complete at least twelve units of study for the preliminary course (in year 11) and at least ten units for the hsc (in year 12). the only compulsory subject is english. students have the option of undertaking vocational education (vet) courses, which may or may not contribute to their australian tertiary admission rank (atar) in the hsc.