Any art teachers out there? Help with my distraught year 12 DD

[withaspongeandarustyspanner]

In brief, DD did really well at GCSE, getting a 9. Chose A Level art as one of her A levels and went to 6th form (adamant she wasn't staying at the 6th form of the secondary school she attended). The sixth form of the school she attended is outstanding and the art department amazing, and though she loved the art department and the teachers, she felt the overall 6th form was not for her.

Anyway, current 6th form is good on many levels, but the art department is not what she hoped. Originally predicted a D by them. I have questioned how she can go from a 9 to a D (I know there can be a tough transition). They don't seem to be concerned or seem to be trying to offer any intervention which surprises me.

She saw friends from her last school recently, and they are already doing year 13 work and are being predicted an A and she is distraught, saying that she won't be able to get an A now as it's too late even if she begins to make improvements. Is she right? Will she not be able to get more than a C or a B, if she's lucky?

Can she move back and join year 13

Ask to meet with her teachers, have her there and have her work there. It’s impossible to say without seeing her work, but I’d say someone capable of 9 at gcse should be able to do better than d at a level.

The thing it might be is if she’s technically skilled but lacks independence and struggles with the conceptual/ideas side?

I think there may be truth in this - but whatever they are doing, they don't seem to be helping her get better at it. All of the other students there went to the lower school, yet all of them got lower grades at GCSE.

I don't know if she can as the other sixth form does different a levels. It's such a mess. I feel so sad for her.

If she is in year 12, I would ask her old school to take her back and resit the year.

Her 9 was teacher assessed though right? Schools judge differently and one school may have a tougher criteria. Now her A levels will be independently graded and if she could achieve an A at one school she should be able to at another.
My dd got an 8 at history and her teacher thought she was fab. Her new school not so much - in fact in her mocks she got an A from one History teacher a C from another (so predicted a B now). I think it's not only a step up but how the history teacher has taught the students through GCSE in the style she likes them to write, and how a different teacher taught my daughter.
I think you talk to the school and find out what they expect your child to do to get a better grade. A level art seems to be a lot of box ticking.

If there are people on here with the knowledge you need , could you post a few of her coursework projects for those in the know to advise ?

Yes - it was CAG, but they still had moderation. Also, the school she left - the art department has an amazing reputation and links with many prestigious art colleges, so I think they wouldn't have risked over inflating the grade.

I'm not sure if she can go back because of her other subjects. I think she has to just find a way of getting through it, though I wish she could go back.

I don’t know the answer to this but figuring she’s considering art as a career so also tell her that you genuinely don’t need an art degree to be an artist.

You DO need to have a vague idea of what kind of art you like to do (this can and will change over time so follow what you like to do right now and look for opportunities around that, then allow new opportunities to take you down new paths).

You DO need a portfolio - look at a bunch of artists/illustrators/graphic designers/interior designers/film art designers/stage set designers/storyboardists/character designers/architects/gardens designers etc and look at their portfolios to see what their portfolio is like. Pick your favourite portfolios and then do what they have done but in your own style.

And most importantly you DO need to treat it like a business. So a business course would be good. Branding course. Money management. There are SO many opportunities online to take extra courses, to get grants, mentors and YouTube offers a wealth of learning opportunities if you choose to spend some time on there and best of all they’re all free. Go to networking events like all the time and get used to talking about your work confidently.

These are the things they aren’t great at teaching, even at uni - plenty of students come out without business/pr knowledge needed to succeed. Plenty of rubbish artists who are great self promotors and make far more of their careers than technically great ones. Not to say you don’t need a good basis and to put in your 10000 hours, you should. But you should always be growing and learning whilst you’re doing it.

My daughter did gcse and alevel art and is going to do an art foundation in September prior to hopefully doing some kind of art related degree. I’ve never quite got to the bottom of how the gcse and alevel is marked but according to my daughter the alevel is marked to very similar criteria ( or tick boxes for want of a better expression) as gcse . There are a lot of marks for things like artist analysis and experimental work such as thumb nail sketches and photos etc which my daughter hated doing but eventually realised she would have to do to earn marks . Do you have a copy of these objectives? Can she go over each one with her teacher? Presumably her gcse was done in the depths of covid and whilst I’m sure she deserved the grade she was given , the teachers could only go on the work the students were able to do under the difficult circumstances and she may not have had these objectives/ criteria hammered home like the students in her current school. My daughters school was never very proactive in improving the grade - I think you might be best looking at the exam board specification yourselves and doing a bit of research and then trying to arrange a meeting if possible with a copy of the objectives and her work . Good luck!

As Art is her main priority, I think it would be worth inquiring about changing back to her old school. Even if she does one fewer A level, it might mean she can achieve a higher grade in her Art A level. Perhaps she could find a night class to study any other subject gaps.

Not an art teacher, but my DD has just completed A-levels (including Art) and is heading to art school next year for an illustration course. (She decided against a foundation as she already knew what area of art/design she wants to do; instead, she'll be on a sandwich course.)

To second what @Dontslamit said: A-level Art is marked according to a very strict scale, where technical skills are only a tiny strand. Most of the marks are for evidence that the student has developed an idea, and for written work explaining the process. Students need to document and annotate everything; each exam board website will have the specification which explains how the marks are awarded.

The other thing to say is that if your DD is aiming for art school, the portfolio is much more important than academic grades. This is doubly true for foundation courses. However, universities which offer art, rather than stand-alone art-schools, are likelier to be fussier about grades. Some, but not all, applicants will be given unconditional offers if the art school likes their work. (Luckily, my DD got one of these offers from her first choice!)

Also, @Alopeciabop -- completely agreed that an artist doesn't need a degree. But if you pick courses carefully, they have industry-placements and business courses alongside the art!

She should ask for clarity regarding the assessment objectives and where her strengths and weaknesses lie.

Update. She met with her old art teacher yesterday and It looks like she is going to try to go back to her 6th form and restart year 12.