Art foundation is this normal?

[BreezySwan]

DD gets A level results in one week, wants to do art foundation but no real idea after that. Is this normal? Do they provide a lot of support on next steps? What did your kids do after art foundation?

My DD did art foundation. A lot from her course went onto art or design related courses at uni although she didn't and just started working afterwards. She saw it as an extra year to decide what she wanted to do.

It’s very normal. In fact if you want to do an arts based degree and lot of Unis would prefer a student to have done an art foundation first rather than going straight with A levels. It helps particularly when a student doesn’t have a clear vision what direction they want to go in.

Yes it is fine.

The foundation will give her the opportunity to try different mediums and decide what she will want her degree to be, in plus it will give her a chance to put together a portfolio of work as it will be a requirement if she decides to apply for an art, design or fashion degree.

It's a great thing to do, especially if your DC doesn't know what kind of art or design they are most interested in (or doesn't know for sure if they want to study for an art degree at all!). It used to be compulsory ahead of starting an art degree; most universities don't insist on it now, but on my DD's art related uni course, at least half of them have done one.
Think of it as a try-out year, a year to grow up, maybe get a part time job, learn to drive and just mature a bit before they head off, having made unrushed decisions about the future. Most stay at home as there is no maintenance funding attached. If they're under 19 there are usually no fees either.

Have a look at this thread. Old but still going. Loads of useful advice.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/higher_education/4795276-art-and-design-at-university-for-past-present-and-future-students-and-parents

DD was able to do art foundation at her sixth form college so spent 3 years there. Really helped not having to think about portfolios at the same time as A-levels and she got to try so much more stuff and changed her final direction. And it was free.

I agree with @Dogwendot
DD1 did an art foundation year. Her cohort went on to a variety of courses including automotive design. She's two years into a fairly niche garment technology degree followed by this past year as an industry placement year (paid at living wage). She's back to university next month for her final year of study.
DD2 will also do an art foundation year, starting next month. She wants to work in art restoration or gallery curation so plans to do a history of art degree.
Both of them lived/ will live at home and no fees to be paid as under 19 when the course begins. Universities we've spoken to have been universally positive about a year of their own art practice and development before starting degrees in linked areas. I view it as a bonus year to try out university without the commitment of moving away from home. The art foundation pushed DD1 out of her comfort zone (art textiles) which was really good for her in terms of then facing new challenges on her degree course.

Thanks, hopefully she will feel better when she starts, at the moment she can't get a job and is mopping round the house. Suggesting she does some work experience or volunteering had not gone down well

My youngest dd did an art foundation diploma as she felt she needed another year before she left for uni (she was an August baby). It is an excellent course and one I did myself before going to uni - I graduated in 2020. It gives students the chance to try lots of difference subjects - printing, photography, textiles, etc and allows them time to really focus on where there skills are. I would definitely recommend it.

DD just finished her Art foundation at a local college and loved it. She’s off to uni in September to do a course unrelated to Art but wanted a Gap year with friends to work and carry on with her passion in art which she’s done as GCSE and A Level. They definitely taught the course exceptionally well and gave great support to those wanting to go on to study various forms of Art.

DD also got a lot of support but already knew what degree she wanted to apply for, but the support was to help her hopefully to get a distinction which her uni wanted for some reason but then offered her the place anyway as unconditional with her A Level results already in hand from last year.

Totally normal! DD did a design degree without a foundation, but many of her cohort did one. @RosamundGarth has already linked to the thread I started years ago, but posters there are still active and happy to answer questions.

It’s a good thing to do because it’s paid for education and it gives her a focus and time to decide what she wants to do next.

Fabulous to have a year immersed in design
Many on daughters course went to a variety of well regarded art institutions
She made the decision to embark on a marketing degree
Glad she had a year to ponder and decide what to do

And marketing has a creative element so the art foundation will have supported that.

Art foundation courses fell away in popularity over the last decade but I am encouraged to see more discussion about them. They are fantastic preparation for more specialist art degree courses and help students find their area of interest.

I did one donkeys years ago and it was a fantastic year of my life.

Also if things are still the same the course is actually free which I was amazed to find

My DD did Art Foundation then went on to take an Arts degree. She just needed more time to decide what to do and wanted to widen her knowledge base.

Yes still free and living at home so very grateful for that

DD has just finished her art foundation. For her, it was very much planned, and she's off to art college this year, but it's also a really nice option for someone who isn't sure what they want to do next, or even someone who does know but wants the chance to spend a year doing art. Most of DDs cohort are off to art college, but plenty are going into employment, apprenticeships or off to study non-art courses at university. It was really interesting at there final show seeing how the ones going off to study other subjects featured that academic interest in their artwork, especially the scientists.

It was such a good option for DD. She has so much more confidence and social skills than she did a year ago.