New HSC History Extension syllabus (from the 2027 HSC): what's changed

The History Extension 11-12 Syllabus (2024) replaces the 2017 History Extension Stage 6 syllabus. Unlike most NSW courses it is Year 12 only, a 1 unit course taken alongside Ancient History or Modern History, so the changeover is a single step: Year 12 starts it in Term 4 2026 and the 2027 HSC is the first exam on it. If you are about to start Year 12 History Extension, this page describes your course.

The idea of the course is the same: you study how history itself has been written, argued over and used. What changes is the wording of the key questions, the shape of the History Project, the way the case studies are listed, and the balance of school-based assessment. Everything below comes from reading NESA's 2017 and 2024 pages side by side, checked on 7 October 2026.

Timeline

The key questions, old and new

The 2024 course is built on four key questions. Two are reworded in a way that matters, and two change only by the closing phrase.

NESA does not state a formal one-to-one mapping, so the pairing of "purposes of history" with "What is history?" in the second row is our reading, lined up by theme. NESA now lists "What is history?" first and the producers question second. Under the 2024 version of "What is history?" NESA lists the nature, role and status of history in different eras, differing interpretations of its aims and purposes, issues of truth, objectivity and causation, and the use and misuse of history.

Two practical points follow. First, every answer is now framed by era, so name the period and its context when you discuss a producer. Second, the producers question speaks of credibility and legitimacy, so be ready to discuss who is accepted as a maker of history, not only professional historians. Our new pages cover both: What is history? and Producers of history in different eras.

Case studies

Students examine one case study with reference to the producers of history and their perspectives, using the key questions to frame it. NESA lists 22 case studies for the 2024 syllabus:

1. Cleopatra VII
2. Athenian democracy
3. Rome and the provinces
4. Early Christianity
5. The collapse of the Western Roman Empire
6. The Crusades
7. Genghis Khan
8. Witch hunts and trials in early modern Europe and/or New England
9. Elizabeth I
10. Spain and the Mexica
11. Catherine the Great
12. Napoleon
13. Western imperialism in the 19th century
14. The Opium Wars
15. Winston Churchill
16. Appeasement
17. The partition of India
18. John Fitzgerald Kennedy
19. Margaret Thatcher
20. The frontier in Australia
21. Women convicts in New South Wales
22. The Anzacs

The 2017 overview describes a case study examined "with reference to three identified areas of debate". The 2024 page describes areas of historiographical interpretation, using Cleopatra VII as its example (character, identity and motivations; leadership and achievements; impact and legacy). NESA does not publish a title-by-title comparison with the 2017 list, so this page does not claim which case studies are new or removed. Your teacher will confirm which case study your class is doing.

The History Project

NESA describes the 2024 process log as holding the topic choice, specific question and research intentions, sequentially dated records, evidence of academic research, progressive dated drafts, and ethical considerations where relevant, with teachers monitoring it regularly. The syllabus still expects you to identify a topic area, inquiry questions, a precise question and research intentions, but NESA's 2024 page does not mention a formal proposal or annotated sources. Check with your teacher what your school will assess. See our page on the 2024 History Project.

School-based assessment

The two components are the same pair, with the weightings swapped.

Under both syllabuses NESA lets schools decide the number, type and weighting of tasks, and recommends individual tasks weigh between 10% and 40%. The shift towards knowledge and evaluation means in-class tasks that test your understanding of historiographical ideas are likely to carry more of your mark than before, though schools set the actual program. NESA's new assessment page notes that its sample assessment schedules and tasks were being updated to align with the new ACE Rules, and it does not say how those rules apply to the History Project, so ask your teacher.

The HSC exam

NESA's 2024 specification:

• 50 marks, 2 hours plus 10 minutes reading time, two extended-response questions.
• Question 1, Key questions (25 marks). May include stimulus for exploring issues of historiography, with a maximum of two unseen passages.
• Question 2, Case studies (25 marks). Asks you to analyse a historiographical issue with specific reference to your case study, and may include a short stimulus reference.

The 2017 paper was also 50 marks with 2 hours plus 10 minutes reading time, as a 25 mark Section I and a 25 mark Section II. NESA has not announced any change to the total marks or timing. The new wording, with Question 1 on the key questions and Question 2 on the case study, is the same two-part structure under a new label. NESA does not give word counts for the unseen passages.

What this means if you are starting Year 12 now

1. Use the new key question wording in your notes. Say "producers of history" and tie each one to an era.
2. Treat the History Project as an essay plus process log. Keep dated drafts and records from the first week, and learn to format footnotes or endnotes consistently.
3. Past papers still help, because the exam asks the same kind of historiographical questions, but older papers use the 2017 key question wording.
4. Check your case study is on the NESA list of 22.

Our existing History Extension pages follow the 2017 syllabus, so they stay accurate for the 2026 cohort. Our new 2024 pages are marked as incoming.