Our Philosophy

The Social Science Faculty strives to become a faculty of excellence in teaching and learning by encouraging independent thinking and creativity in an intellectually stimulating environment.

Our objectives

• To implement teaching strategies for the development of independent and critical thinking;
• To develop a stimulating and cooperative learning environment for both staff and students;
• To prepare students for active involvement within our contemporary society.

Junior School Courses

All students study Geography for 1 semester (2 terms) in Years 7, 8, 9. In Year 10, Geography is studied throughout the year. Commerce is studied as an elective subject in Years 9 and 10.

Geography
The aim of the Geography Years 7–10 program is to stimulate students’ enjoyment of and interest in the interaction of the physical and human environments. Students achieve this as they develop geographic knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes and engage in the community as informed and active citizens.

Commerce
The aim of the Commerce Years 7–10 program is to enable young people to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to research and develop solutions to consumer, financial, legal, business and employment issues in order to make informed and responsible decisions as individuals and as part of the community.

Senior School Courses

HSC courses in Business studies, Earth and Environmental Science, Economics, Geography and Legal Studies are offered to students for study in Years 11 and 12. Our HSC results in these subjects have consistently been considerably above the state average.

Business Studies
The Preliminary course is based on a study of four compulsory topics (Nature of Business, Key Business Functions, Establishing a Business, Developing a Business Plan) and the completion of a Business Research Task. The Business Research Task is a project undertaken throughout the course to support course concepts. The HSC course is based on a study of five compulsory topics (Business Management and Change, Financial Planning and Management, Marketing, Employment Relations, Global Business).  The ordering of the topics is not prescriptive and in practice may be influenced by students’ needs, interests and access to case study and other resources.
Business Studies Course Structure

Economics
The Preliminary course is essentially microeconomic in nature, focusing on aspects of the economic behaviour of consumers, business and governments. Much of this behaviour is influenced by the operation of markets. Two key markets, the labour market and the financial market, are examined in detail. The Preliminary course provides an essential foundation for the HSC course. The HSC course focuses on the management of an economy and is therefore essentially macroeconomic in nature. It examines the external framework in which the Australian economy operates. The course investigates the impact of the global economy on the Australian economy and the link between economic issues and the management of an economy, with specific reference to the Australian economy.
Economics Course Structure

Geography
In the preliminary course, students undertake study of two topic areas: Biophysical Interactions and Global Challenges. They also undertake a major Geography Project to complete their year 11 assessment. In the HSC Course, students study three topic areas: Ecosystems at Risk, Urban Places and People and Economic Activity.
Geography Course Structure

Legal Studies
Legal Studies develops students' knowledge, understanding and skills in relation to the legal system and its effectiveness in promoting a just and fair society, with a view to empowering students to participate effectively as citizens at the local, national and international level. Studied themes include Justice, law and society, Culture, values and ethics, Legal processes and institutions, Conflict and cooperation and the Effectiveness of the legal system. In the preliminary course, students study two broad topics of the basics of the legal system and the Individual and the State. They then perform a focus study of two marginalised groups and their position the the law. In the HSC course, students engage in the topics of Law and Society and a number of focus studies on crime (compulsory) and two other general themes in law.
Legal Studies Course Structure

Earth and Environmental Science
Earth and Environmental Science is the study of the Earth and its processes. The course aims to provide an understanding of systems and processes in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. It seeks to explore changes that have occurred during Earth’s history, including changes in the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere and biosphere, and the evolution of organisms since the origin of life on Earth
Earth and Environmental Science Course Structure

Outcomes and Results

Careers and Tertiary Courses
Tertiary courses in Commerce, Economics, Business and Law are very popular choices for students when they leave Sydney Boys High School.

Consistently, over 35% of students from High selected university courses in Commerce/Economics, Business and Actuarial Studies while 10% of students selected combined Law courses, others entered courses requiring further studies in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

Fieldwork
Excursions and fieldtrips remain a part of a wider pedagogical framework engaging students beyond traditional subject boundaries.

Competitions
Participation in national competitions has remained high with a large number of students receiving awards of a credit or higher. Competitions include the National Geographic Australian Geography Competition (where High was ranked first in Australia), the UNSW PwC Australia and NZ Economics Competition, the UNSW PwC Business Studies Competition and the Planning Your Own Enterprise Competition.

2011 Highlights

Competitions
In 2011 a large number of our students entered the National Geographic Channel Geographic Competition, the ASX game and the Chartered Accountants Economics and Business Studies competition.

Competition Results
Competition results for 2011 as follows:

National Geographic Channel Geography, UNSW/ Chartered Accountants Economics and Business Studies Competition Prize winners

In Geography High was ranked 1st in Australia for the second time in 4 years.

• Ashwin Rudder, equal first in Australia in the senior level
• Dawen Shi, equal first in Australia in the senior level 
• Max Wei, equal third in NSW in the senior level
• Daniel Tam, equal fifth in NSW in the intermediate level Prizes included: certificates, atlases and trophies.

In the Chartered Accountants Economics competition High received 14 Prizes which was our best ever result. Those boys received prizes of $50-$200. Jamison Tsai of Year 11 (pictured below) ranked 1st in Australia and received a medal. An outstanding result. The competition dealt with current economic issues such as economic growth, inflation, the current GFC, theories, unemployment and environmental economics.

In the Chartered Accountants Business Studies competition High was ranked 1st in NSW and achieved its best ever result with 27 boys receiving prizes ranging from $50-$200. Jonathan Adhika and Kenny Lau came equal first in NSW. A great result. The competition tested business knowledge relating to marketing, accounting, global business and business operations.

Other extra curricular activities
Social Science students participated in the usual array of other activities.

Year 7 conducted field study research at school exploring erosion issues around the newly contracted cola. Year 8 visited Bicentennial Park Wetlands as part of their study unit “Investigating Global Environments and Communities”. Stage 5 geographers (Year 9) visited Pyrmont as part of their studies investigating “Sustainable Sydney” and “Urban Dynamics”. Stage 5 geographers (Year 9) attended Centennial Park as part of their study unit “Land and Water Management”. Stage 6 Geographers conducted a field study in the inner west as part of their study unit “Urban Dynamics”.

All students were also offered the opportunity to participate in the ASX game for 2011.

2010 Highlights

Competitions
In 2010 a large number of our students entered the National Geography Competition, the ASX game and the UNSW Economics and Business Studies competition.

ASX
Students entered the much anticipated ASX (stock market game) earlier this term. Each student was given hypothetically $50,000 for trading. The first game started in April; just as the bear market (stagnant or retreating share prices) was beginning to turn into a bull market (an upturn in the price of shares). However, the continued uncertainty of the GFC and the US economy, and the sovereign debt crisis of the PIIGS economies (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain) have dampened enthusiasm for investors. Most students made small gains leading up to the first half of the year, but it was a real struggle. The second round of trading began in September and with a continued positive economic outlook it’s going to be obvious that many boys will be making easy money. They must not be overconfident though as anything can be lurking around the corner. History tends to repeat itself.

Competitions Results
Competition results for 2010 as follows:

National Geographic Chanel Geography, UNSW/PwC Economics and Business Studies Competition Prize winners
In Geography High was ranked 2nd in NSW and 2nd in Australia with both Jemy Ma and Aaron Wong (both Year 8) gaining a prize.

High was ranked 2nd in NSW in the Economics competition. Prize winners were: Z Guo, C Wong, D McCrea-Steele, O Fio and L Aylmer (Year 12); D Li and B Cheng (Year 11).

In the Business Studies competition High was ranked 1st in NSW. Prize winners were: E Feng, D Huang, A Jurisevic, J Gao, S Sandhu, F Li, T Li, M Wang, A Liu, W Santucci and A Zhang (Year 12); R McDonald, M Connell, Y Wong, C Pan, S Danziger, K Liu, N Pinidiya, K Dhutta, N Tang, A Xu, G Panas and N Kok (Years 10 /11).

Other extra curricular activities
Social Science students participated in the usual array of other activities. Year 7 conducted field study research at school exploring erosion issues around the newly contracted cola. Year 8 visited Bicentennial Park Wetlands as part of their study unit “Investigating Global Environments and Communities”. Stage 5 geographers (Year 9) visited Pyrmont as part of their studies investigating “Sustainable Sydney” and “Urban Dynamics”. Stage 5 geographers (Year 9 and 10) attended Long Reef as part of their study unit “Issues in Australian Environments”. Stage 6 Geographers and EES students visited Jervis bay as part of their unit (Ecosystems). Year 11 Business Studies went to centre point tower as part of their study unit “Business Operations”. This was followed by the mandatory sample of the buffet. Year 11 Legal Studies visited the District and Local Courts at the Downing Centre.

School Certificate Results
This year a record number of students attempted the Geography School Certificate paper. There were 199 Year 10 students and 197 Year 9 students. The Stage 5 Geography course was compacted with Year 9 completing their two year course in one. This has been successful as students were now given the opportunity to explore another elective. Results as follows:

HSC Results 2010