Changing a GCSE after a year…any experience?

Surely it would be less work for him to bring his art grade up than to cover the entire first year of a new gcse over the summer?
Also, why does it really matter to a)him b) you?

Get him to paint in a more abstract than literal way they seem to like that

He should research student GCSE work who have got high marks to give him more of an idea of what's expected

Can't change at this late stage but if he's not enjoying it he can drop it and not continue.

English counts as 2 so he has 10 at the moment.

School may just let him drop it, or if not, he could just do it and choose not to put it on his CV.

There is no point giving too much thought to exactly what to replace it with. There's likely only to be a handful of options depending on the timetable and which classes have space. Something like a switch to commercial art from fine art or whatever might work but concentrating on his other 9 is probably a better investment for him than slogging to pick up a random new 10th GCSE

As a parent who has had 2 children go through GCSE including one this year don't even consider swapping out a GCSE at this stage. There is simply too much work for self guided learning and both my children are high grade achievers. Even with a revision guide for History they cover a lot more context in class and it is a heavy workload.

Why not contact his art teacher now before school closes for summer and find out how he can increase his art grade. If possible have a face to face meeting and maybe see other work done by other children. Get her to walk you and yoru son through it. One low pass grade does not ruin his GCSE profile. He chose art because he likes it so find out how to increase his grade. I am sure like other subjects there are many resources online to help from mark schemes, YouTube videos of people showcasing their work etc.

As someone who did history A level and philosophy as a minor don't force him to do philosophy. It's really hard and also bullshit.

Leave him alone. He has tonnes of great GCSEs once low grade in art will make 0 difference.

I say this as someone who got all A and A* at GCSE and A level... except chemistry A level which I got a U in.

Nobody has ever mentioned it. I got into a top 10 uni. I got a 1st and an MA.

Find out what he needs to do to up his grade. Look online at bbc bitesize. Look at the art gcse specification.

could be he’s not doing evaluation or analysis well yet, for example

If he is not going to do well in art obvs, not Eng

Op he really cannot pick up GCSE philosophy and ethics with two terms to go.

Yy English lit and lang is two very separate GCSEs. Ask the school about it - if he is not going to do well they may agree not to enter him but tbh if he gets nine grades 7-8 and one 3-4 it's not the end of the world. Deffo not worth trying to pick up another subject at this stage.

So he is doing ten GCSEs - lang and lit are separate. I would just drop art and concentrate on the rest or at least not worry too much about it. Once he moves on to A levels no one will care. Many unis barely even look at GCSEs even for top courses.

Just drop art. Eng Lang and Eng lit give you 2 GCSEs. Don’t bother taking up something in place of the art.

I speak as someone who had to choose an arts type subject 20+ years ago and got a D in Art GCSE but then took maths and science A levels and went onto a Maths degree. No one ever mentioned the Art GCSE and I no longer put it on my CV. Could he possibly continue in lessons but then not be entered. I would definitely talk to the school . But if he does continue inwouldnt worry too much.

Yes, precisely this! Very very few of the marks for Art at GCSE or indeed A-level are for the quality of the final piece. It's mostly based on how well the student has documented the thought processes and experiments to get there, including references to other artists. (A-level art involves writing a decent-length essay about this!)

If your DS continues with his Art, I would get hold of a copy of the syllabus and the marking scheme if you can. There are a number of ways in which someone with an academic mind can achieve a decent grade in art GCSE without 'artistic talent'.
Filling sketchbooks and journals with ideas and his thought processes, studying artists' techniques and showing how his ideas progress will help him get better marks.

I have to say; I love the painting. I would not know what mark it would gain at GCSE but I would probably buy it if I saw it out and about.

What is more important?

Art is very subjective.

I doubt the school will let him pick up a new subject now. It would be such a huge task to cover the past work (which he’d have to do in his own time) and that takes his time away from other subjects. Also, you say he’s at a 3 but really it depends where - if he’s close to a 4 that’s a lot easier to right than a low 3. I’d be asking the art teacher for advice on what he can do to improve over the summer if it were me and whether he is capable of achieving a 4

How many GCSEs is he taking? Universities only look at the top 8 usually so I would suggest that he just sees if he can drop it (if he wants to) and concentrate on the ones he has left. History is heavy to pick up at this stage.

Thing is OP, year 11 is really only two terms of new learning (at most) as post Easter it is all about revision. To cover the five terms of history syllabus in two terms is a big ask. I would suggest if he enjoys art he either:

1. Makes massive effort with it over the summer, after first asking his teacher what he needs to improve on (not my subject so I cannot advise, but if it were my subject I would be able to IYSWIM) Or
2. Pretty much gives up on the idea of a decent grade, does it to an enjoyable degree but doesn’t waste a lot of time on it (art is a big thief of time) and concentrates on his other subjects, the ones he may take to A level and beyond.

I would be inclined to do 2) myself. A 3 among his 7s and 8s won’t make any difference.

If he switched it would have to be to a subject in the same timetable block, which may or may not include history (unless this been checked already)

If he is enjoying it, I would let him crack on. Perhaps try to set up a meeting between his teacher, you and him to discuss why his Art grade is so out of step with his other grades and what he would need to do in order to improve it, and what sort of improvement you can realistically expect to see.

The logistics around changing GCSE, if that’s what he wants to do, might be trickier. Something like @SkiingIsHeaven ’s DS’s school’s approach might be necessary, a motivated student could probably pull it off perhaps with the aid of a tutor over the summer.

The painting looks like it a 3, as hes not planning to continue art I wouldn't worry about it much.
He could improve to a passing grade by next year but his art grade won't matter to a college where he is trying to study science. And nobody will care about a gcse, especially a non core one, after after A levels.