Great Art college for 14 year old in the UK

[GreenYellowTurtle]

Hi, we are looking to relocate back to the Uk after 12 years away, and I am looking for good schools for my children, who are ages 12 and 14. My son is a talented manga artist, so ideally I would like to find a school or college that can support that. Does anyone know of any good art colleges? Or more creative secondary schools? We can actually live anywhere (although our budget is tight). Thanks

https://www.utcsheffield.org.uk/city/about/
There are some UTCs that focus on digital arts

Every day is a school day here 😀 thanks all

@clary I don't know the actual qualification/course names but I know one teen at The Brit who did animation/illustration and another did some kind of technical (ie behind the scenes) thing.
I'm slightly jealous of those who get to go there.

Yep it sounds really amazing if it’s your thing!

Thanks that's great. I found another great looking one for 14 year olds too in Oxford - https://guildford.activatelearning.ac.uk/app/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/14-16_Course_Guide_2024_UPDATE.pdf

Thank you for your message. Just to add to the thread for anyone else who is looking for alternative education ideas I discovered another NVQ starting point Art & Design for 14-16 year olds at Oxford - https://guildford.activatelearning.ac.uk/app/uploads/sites/2/2024/05/14-16_Course_Guide_2024_UPDATE.pdf 3

I would be a little cautious and suggest you ask fairly probing questions about attainment and progression. The pupils on such programmes are often those who have not succeeded in mainstream education, due to a variety of reasons, and not necessarily be committed to whatever strand they are placed in or be working at the level of your ds. Every course advertised may not run each year and it may not be possible to enrol mid year.

Thank you for your post. Yes I have been specifically asking questions around this as my son is bright, he just finds mainstream education hard. This last college in Oxford also provides GCSEs so he will still work on GCSEs it's just adding a bit more creativity in for him too. He needs 4 GCSEs to go onto a BTEC art and design course when he is 16-18, but he will do 6 GCSEs - the schools I have been looking at in the UK make students do 9 GCSEs, which he doesn't need and will make his life unbearable studying for subjects, such as History, which he will never use again. Do you know if schools let them do less subjects if they can't keep up? Thanks

Not sure if anyone has mentioned the National Saturday Club yet which has branches all over the country. saturday-club.org/subject/art-design/ saturday-club.org/subject/art-design/]]]]

dd went to one from 14yo and loved it. She had so many opportunities from it including an all expenses paid summer in Beijing studying art and design at a university there. Trips and exhibitions in London. Really expanded her art skills.

@GreenYellowTurtle careful with the Activate Learning college - it's a group of colleges in different towns and not all subjects are run at all branches.
Check the course you like the look of is actually where you decide to move to (ie don't move to Oxford if the course is at Bicester).

This seems ro be as an adjunct to a normal school place, rather than full-time 14-16 education?

make his life unbearable studying for subjects, such as History, which he will never use again

Human beings use History every single day. Lack of even basic (GCSE level) experience of thinking about the past means a person will struggle to understand ‘the bigger picture’. And I cannot imagine a single art school in the country would not base its teaching on the History of Art.

That Oxford course (which may not actually be in Oxford) is very much part time OP. You'll be expected to either continue to home school him for the core subjects (at a minimum) or he can attend a local secondary school which will offer this course in addition to the GCSEs. Generally speaking he will be able to specialise in art more once he is 16 and in year 12. However most courses will require some GCSEs and he will be expected to develop his skills as an all round artist, including a sound knowledge of the history of art, before specialising.

Yes I agree - looking at that spec, it is clear it is intended to run alongside school - it talks about being a separate programme designed to support GCSE studies in school - and refers to a student’s home school. It's not a substitute for taking GCSEs in a mainstream school @GreenYellowTurtle

@GreenYellowTurtle My DC is currently doing an Art Foundation course prior to doing an Illustration degree. They have 10 GCSEs and 3 A levels. If your DS is looking to pursue a career in Manga art, then this might be the route to go (my DC has both GCSE and A level art, as do many on their course). An Art Foundation course is often a pre requisite for an Art degree (certainly at some of the better thought of universities).

The benefits of this mean that the specialist art colleges and universities have tried and tested routes into the creative world/jobs! They have the connections needed. This is so important.

Level 3 Art Foundation courses are only post 16 (they might be post 18) and require at least 4 GCSEs (some want much more, including A levels or equivalent).

Lastly, yes, schools can certainly insist on a certain number of GCSEs being taken, regardless of your views as a parent. Dropping one or even two might be possible but often it isn’t. Problems with supervision of students who aren’t taking a certain subject, as well as performance in league tables, plays a part.

Unfortunately it's very difficult to specialise that early unless you are on an accelerated path where you have done all your GCSEs already.

I have a DD who is in normal school, SEN and has a very specialised music focus. She has a bespoke timetable at school and takes fewer GCSEs but even though her school are extremely flexible, it took quite a bit of rejigging to make it all work, and she has to do extra PE sessions where there are timetable gaps (luckily she really likes PE but would be hell for a lot of kids.)

She's going straight to tertiary level at 16 - but she already has L4 qualifications and has worked with the college for several years already, so they know her, know her maturity levels and have been guiding her work for a long time.

I was at art college myself and it's unlikely your son would be able to just focus on anime from day one. The colleges are all about encouraging experimentation and breadth.

There are lots of schools in the UK with fantastic art departments - worth looking for one where he could perhaps do a mix of GCSEs and BTECs. He would definitely be able to take 2 creative options, but Sciences, English Lit/Lang, Maths are not optional, and a lot of schools insist on a humanity, RE and an MFL as well.

It's not the question you asked but just dropping in that it's possible to study Animation at A Level, alongside Art. https://www.brock.ac.uk/course/animation-a-level/

Sixth forms set their own entry requirements but needing 5+ at grade 4 or 5 or more, including maths and English, is common. State schools can be very reluctant to allow part time timetables until GCSEs are completed because there are not always spare staff to supervise students who are not in lessons. That said there can be more flexibility if you can show it's a need, not a preference. I think this would be hard to get in place before start of Y10 though.

I teach in FE art and design - for about 20 years.
There are a few levels of courses available at post 16.

Level 1 - very basic /introductory. A Level 2 Diploma, which is equivalent to 5 GCSEs and would provide a good grounding all round. A Level 3 Dipoma, which is equivalent to A Levels.
If you do a general art and design course, you can't choose to just draw- modules will be included in 2D/3D and time based or lens-based media in most specifications (depends on the course exam board - BTEc has slightly more choice then UAL awarding body, so some colleges may focus more on 2D only)

There are english and maths study requirements on all statefunded education in the uk - as a prior poster states, if a student hasn't yet achieved a grade 4 or better GCSE eng/maths then continuing study of that is compulsory. Also, bear in mind that studying art also means you are required to write and reflect on your work, research into artists and designers, especially at Level 3.

I haven't seen the other thread where disabilties are mentioned but it's worth investigating if an Education health care plan (EHCP) is applicable in his case. This would give you the rights to specific support if needed to access mainstream education eg a learning support assistant.