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Original poster

Yr 8 Options GCSE Drama, Music and Art. I know, I know...

34 replies

NeverPromisedYouARoseGarden · 09/03/2020 12:48

I realise there is currently a similar thread to this one but I don't want to hijack so thought I'd start my own. DD is 13, Yr8 and choosing GCSE options.

Here's the setup. Selective school, 3yr GCSE programme, not fussed about Ebacc (us or school).
Compulsory GCSEs:
English lang and lit
Maths
3 sciences
MFL (DD has chosen Spanish)
RE (half GCSE)

Three options:
Drama
Music
Art

I'm well aware that this is a poor combination of options due to the insane amount of coursework but it's very difficult to persuade a 13yo who is viewing it with somewhat rose-tinted specs! All three teachers have said they would really like to have her in their class, which isn't helping with the rose-tintedness! Currently achieving 8/9 in all three subjects.

DD is an all-round bright kid, achieving 7 and above in most subjects. Struggles more with maths and physics. She is v creative and highly imaginative but also inclined to be day-dreamy and disorganised, which is linked to the creativity - lots of exciting ideas in her head - but not always easy to live with! She has no real idea what she wants to do careerwise or even for A levels. To break it down a bit…

  1. Drama - absolute no-brainer for DD. She loves it although no particular desire to make performing arts into a career. I have never seen her so happy and focused and organised (yay!) as during her involvement with school plays and class performances. Does no drama outside of school but plans to audition for local am-dram youth group this year as previously has not been old enough.

  2. Music - Loves the subject and is very talented. Plays two instruments, grades 7 and 5. Very good natural ear. Music teacher outside of school is v experienced and routinely offers additional GCSE support and advice if needed.

  3. Art - Loves the subject, reasonably talented, desperate to crack on with it alongside a group of students who also love art and actually want to be there.

I am trying very hard to steer DD away from art and towards history (a subject she also enjoys and her backup choice). I think she will find the art coursework overwhelming and I worry it will suck the fun out of the subject for her. She would actually be fine if a teacher was setting the art as homework on a weekly basis because she is much better working to deadlines. But there is a lot of self-direction and self-discipline required and I doubt she will be motivated to work consistently doing, say, a couple of hours art per week outside of the lessons. She insists she will, of course!

I also favour history because I'm concerned that she will not have a humanities subject (except the half RE) and I think it would be more useful to have another subject area in which to develop writing and thinking skills. There is essay writing involved with the drama (and possibly the music?) but not to the same level.

I have discussed with the school the possibility of dropping physics in favour of history but it would not work in terms of timetabling.
Have also discussed with DD the option of dropping music GCSE as she does extracurricular music and is already very skilled but she really enjoys it and I do think it will be a relatively 'soft' subject for her and therefore potentially less stressful.

Another thought is that perhaps the three year GCSE programme will lessen the coursework burden somewhat and make it more achievable to do all three. Does anyone have DC who have found this to be the case?

So, if anyone wants to tell me that the combination of subjects is not so bad, that would be great. Or if anyone has a compelling argument to favour history over art, that would be good too. And I'll be showing this thread to DD so that I'm not the only bad guy!!

OP posts:
RedskyAtnight · 09/03/2020 14:36

I said this on the other thread but it's worth saying again.

Music is about more than performing (under AQA performance is only 30%).

Drama is also about more than performance.

Don't assume because your child loves the performance aspect of music/drama they will love the GCSE. In fact if your child is a talented performer the GCSE may well not teach them anything in terms of performance (e.g. you get maximum difficulty marks for a playing a Grade 5 level piece in GCSE music; there's no actual benefit in terms of the GCSE being able to play at a higher level).

dontletmedowngently · 09/03/2020 14:19

DDs friend does art and music. She is a talented musician who plays several instruments and is a member of an orchestra outside school. They are in year 11 now and she really regrets choosing music, she says it has taken all the enjoyment out of playing that she used to have.

DD does art and finds it takes a huge amount of her time, even though she is very artistic. Again, she says it’s taken something she loves and made it into a chore. She’s looking forward to getting the exam over and done with before the Easter holiday so she can spend more time on her other subjects.

Mazig · 09/03/2020 13:31

My DD takes drama and music, currently in year 10. A lot of people in her drama class took it thinking it was an easy option and it actually involves a lot of work, and it involves trips and productions outside of normal school hours. Quite a few people have dropped it and/or got poor marks because they haven't put in enough effort.

Music seems to be less extra work.

DD loves both. She has also said that people in her year who took art are struggling with the volume of work and she is glad she isn't doing it.

Comefromaway · 09/03/2020 13:31

That’s a really interesting perspective redsky. One thing the ops Dd maybe needs to take into consideration is that for her it could be three hours of art instead of 1 hour of history plus 2 hours of practising her instruments (Grade 5 & 7 is a very high standard for her age and will require regular practice. )

RedskyAtnight · 09/03/2020 13:28

As I posted on the other thread, we had a similar dilemma with my DD.

A poster made a really useful point about Art that I think is worthy of repeating. (This was about her DS in Year 11)

"My DS chose art on the basis that he would rather do 3 hours of art than 3 hours of history. He realises now that actually he was choosing do 3 hours of art compared to 1 hour of history and 2 hours of watching rubbish on YouTube".

I read this quote to my DD at the time and she said "but I just love art and I don't mind doing it" (and to be fair she spends hours doing art in he own time anyway). If your daughter is not so keen, it might change her mind?

troppibambini · 09/03/2020 13:19

Dd is in y10 at a selective school. She has told me that she feels really sorry for the girls taking art as they have so much work. They are allowed extensions on the homework for other subjects because of how much they have to do.
That said at our school it's a two year course not three so this might release the pressure a bit.
You should go with her strengths but I personally think those subjects are a little unbalanced and would be guiding her towards history.
At dds school you could only chose one of those subjects.
Is there a chance of her doing double science rather than triple to free up another option?

OrchidFlakes · 09/03/2020 12:58

I’d let her do the ones she has chosen. Minimal course work with drama, if she’s already and accomplished musician then the work for that should come naturally leaving her work to do for art.
Choosing options so young is unique to the U.K. and she can always pick up an additional subject at GCSE if needed when she is older. The worst her choices can do is delay her entry to university (should she choose that route) if she changes her mind to a different path in life. The arts are underfunded and undervalued yet we all seek solace in theatre, art and music when modern life overwhelms us.
Good luck to her, making tough decisions so young is so hard.

Comefromaway · 09/03/2020 12:54

History goes well with drama and music as knowledge of the context/time pieces were written in is useful. I studied all three subjects plus English Lit at A level.

I think I’d share your concerns about the art and coursework. Assuming she can compose & has Grade 5 Theory she should find music pretty easy is she’s already performing at that level.

Original poster
NeverPromisedYouARoseGarden · 09/03/2020 12:49

Oh my God, that's so long! Apologies!

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