Year 12 in WA runs from late January to mid-November. 11 months. About 33 weeks of teaching. 4 to 6 weeks of internal exam prep. 4 weeks of WACE external exams. Then a brief decompression and university offers.
Most Year 12 students react to the calendar instead of planning around it. Below is the month-by-month plan we run with our students at our Bentley and Canning Vale centres. It is calibrated to actual Year 12 demands, not idealised study advice.
January (before Year 12 starts)
- Set your target ATAR. Use our ATAR calculator with realistic projected raw marks. Adjust each subject's target up or down.
- Identify your weakest subject from Year 11 final exam results. Plan a 1-week catch-up in late January on its weakest topic.
- Set your weekly study cadence: which days, what hours, which subjects.
- Buy any required textbooks before Term 1 starts.
February (Term 1, weeks 1-4)
- Establish weekly study cadence. Don't let Term 1 settle without one. Habits formed in February stick.
- Pre-read each subject's first 2 chapters. 30 minutes per subject.
- Take notes mapped to syllabus dot points, not chapter headings.
- Sit OLNA if not yet passed. Year 12 OLNA windows are in March.
March (Term 1, weeks 5-8)
- First school assessments arrive. Don't panic about marks; learn what kind of questions you struggle with.
- Build 6 to 8 hours per week of focused study. Less is too little. More is unsustainable.
- Start past paper exposure (1 question per week per subject). It feels early. It is not.
- Sit Year 12 round-1 OLNA if you haven't passed yet.
April (Easter break, into Term 2)
- Easter break: rest 50%, study 50%. Use the 2 weeks to consolidate Term 1 content. Don't read ahead.
- Write topic-summary notes for Term 1 in each subject. 1 page per topic. These become exam revision later.
- Identify which 1 subject is your weakest from Term 1 grades. Add 30 minutes of weekly study to that subject.
May (Term 2, weeks 1-5)
- School internal mid-year tests in many subjects. Treat them as exam practice, not as score panic.
- Past paper cadence: 1 question per subject per week becomes 2 questions per subject per week.
- If your projected ATAR (per the calculator) is below your target, intervene now. Term 3 is too late.
June (mid-year exams, school holidays)
- School half-yearly exams in many subjects. Take them seriously: they are 25-50% of your school assessment.
- July school holidays (typically late June to mid July): 4 to 5 hours per day of focused revision is sustainable.
- End of holiday: write a written assessment of where each subject sits. What do you understand? What are gaps? What is the plan for Term 3?
July (Term 3, weeks 1-3)
- Term 3 is the heaviest content term in most subjects. Expect 4 to 5 new topics per subject across the term.
- Past paper cadence: 1 full past paper section per week per subject (timed).
- Start memorising your subject formulas, dates, syllabus dot points. The active recall practice you've built earlier pays off here.
August (Term 3, weeks 4-9)
- UCAT (if applicable for medicine pathways).
- Final school internal tests in some subjects. The marks become 50% of your school assessment.
- Subject-specific deep dives: identify the 2 to 3 syllabus dot points you've avoided. Drill them.
- End of August: full past paper under timed conditions in your weakest subject. Mark with marking key.
September (Term 4, weeks 1-3)
- School ends teaching. Internal final mock exams in most subjects.
- Personalised SCSA written exam timetable becomes available.
- 4-week external exam revision begins. 6 to 7 hours per day of study.
- Apply to all WA universities (TISC application by deadline). Notre Dame applications are direct, not via TISC.
October (Pre-exam revision, exams begin)
- External practical exams begin late September to mid October (Aviation, Dance, Drama, Music, etc.).
- Written exams begin late October. The 2026 timetable shows written exams from 28 October to 19 November.
- Exam-day strategy: night before, morning of, in-exam pacing. See our WACE exam day checklist.
- Sleep is non-negotiable. 7-8 hours minimum.
November (External exams)
- Written exams: 28 October to 19 November 2026.
- Between exams: light revision only. No new content. No marathon study sessions.
- The day after your last exam: rest. Take 24-48 hours off.
December (after exams)
- WACE results released mid-December.
- TISC offers issued shortly after.
- If your offer is not what you wanted, alternative pathways (UniReady, Curtin Pathways, transfer plans) are open.
Year 12 is not a marathon you sprint at the end. It is a series of overlapping campaigns. Each term has its own dynamic. Plan the term, not just the year.
What to actually do this week
- Identify which month you are currently in. Read that section twice. Compare to where you actually are.
- If you are behind, identify the highest-leverage 60-minute action this week. Add it to your calendar before Sunday.
- Set up a monthly "where am I on the timeline?" check-in. First Sunday of each month, 15 minutes.
If you want a tutor who runs the cadence above with you, weekly, with marked past papers and progress tracking, book a free trial class. We have run this exact playbook for our Year 12 students at Bentley and Canning Vale across multiple cohorts.