Which 6th form????

[catsandtigers]

Oh wise MNers please give your thoughts and advice. Y11 DC now has to choose which school to go to for 6th form:

Current comprehensive

• DC is very happy there and has done very well
• good relationships with teachers and other kids. Has lots of friends who are all staying for 6th form.
• but A-Level choices don't fit into timetable. The school may be able to sort something out. It is Art that is causing the problem. They are talking about possibly (timetable allowing) sending my DC to Y13 lessons or switching around one of the art teacher's free periods to a y12 lesson and then leaving DC to work independently for rest of week.

Grammar school

• DC went to induction day and said all teachers and kids were nice. Generally felt happy and comfortable, although of course can't be certain of this after 1 day
• A-Level choices fit in with timetable
• DC was not impressed with standard of GCSE art sketchbooks. Other three subjects were very good.

[catsandtigers]

Forgot to say - DC very strong academically. Predicted 8s all round.

[StellaHeyStella]

How important is it that dd takes Art? I don't know a great deal about it as an A level subject so forgive me if I'm making massive assumptions but if she is very academic will it fit in well with her other choices?

I think you need to look further ahead to university choices and courses in order to really make the decision, will she continue with Art or do you think she could decide to drop it. I understand that there's an awful lot of coursework involved in the subject and A levels are tough as it is.

Remember also that both schools should be keen for dd to choose them as her predicted grades will help their stats so it's understandable that current school are willing to re jig the timetable (that's me being cynical there )

[catsandtigers]

Thank you @StellaHeyStella.

I had the same reaction as you but my DC is passionate about art. I made all kind of suggestions like going to art evening classes, doing art projects for DofE etc..... but no it has to be Art A-Level because it's the fave subject. Other subjects are maths/science. DC is determined to do Art.

[StellaHeyStella]

Sorry, it's dc not dd - my mistake.

I wonder if dc would have always thought the art standard at the grammar school wasn't up to scratch whatever it was like.

Current comp has established friend and teachers and is familiar to dc, only problem is they can't very well accommodate dc A level choices in their timetable. If dc is determined to take Art then reading between the lines current comp is the preference for dc. Success will depend on how well they work alone as the compromise offered from the school is not ideal.

[MarchingFrogs]

Unless there is something else terminally off-putting, I'd say go with the school which has confirmed that their A level subjects can be timetabled.

And why should they drop Art, if it's a subject that they are good at and really enjoy? Yes, it's time consuming and a lot of hard work (or so I understand - my Art teachers put up no fight at all when I didn't want to take it for O level, but DS2 is really talented and we will be encouraging him to continue to A level if he wishes to). But whereas plenty of universities say, Sorry, General Studies / Critical Thinking not counted, I can't remember seeing Art being similarly discounted by the universities that DS1 looked at for Biochemistry or any that DD is considering for Politics / IR. Do Magic Circle law firms / Investment Banks tend to include 'must not have taken Fine Art A level' in their person spec, or something? In the areas in which I've worked, employers tend to be interested in applicants possessing the right qualifications, not in whether they co-incidentally possess irrelevant ones.

[lljkk]

Does the Art teacher at Grammar seem to know their stuff? If yes, then Grammar who can timetable combo the DC wants.

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

DC was not impressed with standard of GCSE art sketchbooks. Other three subjects were very good With the best will in the world, in a grammar school, art won't have the same focus (or uptake) as it would probably get in a comprehensive. Most of the pupils won't be set on art-related professions, so it probably won't be where they put in most effort.

[MarchingFrogs]

The standard of art at our local grammar schools is quite high, actually, and certainly the teachers take it seriously - although t be fair, according to DS2 not necessarily all of the students at his one. And wanting to study a subject such as architecture, for which Art is useful, if not necessarily required, is not frowned upon - or even Find Art itself. Don't worry, though, those whose ambitions lie in the more acceptable grammar school directions are not discriminated against - at least two of my friends have DC studying Accounting and Finance and one girl at least from DS1's year went to LSE with the long term ambition of running the country.

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Yes, you're right MarchingFrogs. Based on my own grammar school experience some of the pupils were really gifted at art. Indeed, one did go on to study architecture at uni too.

It almost sounds, OP, as if your son isn't that keen on the grammar school? His derogatory remark about the standard of the pupils' GCSE artwork sounds almost dismissive?

[MarchingFrogs]

Fine Art...

[catsandtigers]

Thanks All.
@MarchingFrogs DC does like grammar school. This is the trouble - if not, it would be a simple decision to go to the comprehensive we know and love. Indeed the art teacher at the comprehensive told me that art used not to be impressive at grammar school but was now pretty good. My DC (who didn't know about this conversation) was however not impressed with the art at the grammar, but everything else was good. Indeed many of the less important things, such as the facilities, were far better at the grammar.

[catsandtigers]

It's a toss up between changing to a school (the grammar) where my DC's A-Level choices fit into the timetable , but where my DC knows nobody and may not be happy.

Or going to the old school where my DC has good relationships with the staff and pupils, and definitely will be happy..... but may have to compromise on A-Level choices.

It's difficult!

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Tough call for your DS catsandtigers. What does your son want to do?