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Original poster

Options - DD has to choose between Art and History - WWYD?

62 replies

SugarSkyHigh · 09/02/2011 20:21

My yr 9 DD is just choosing her options - at her school, technology, RS and one MFL are compulsory (aswell as maths, science, english of course). This means that the only actual "options" she has been able to take are another MFL and Art. She would also like to do history but that would mean not doing either one MFL or Art. I sort of wish she would drop the art and do history instead but it has to be her decision I think.

Plus, she could still do history at A'level later on presumably, without having done the GCSE?

Or would you tell her to do history GCSE????

OP posts:
pinkbraces · 10/02/2011 10:37

My DD is in her first year of A levels and one of her subjects is art. It is definitely not easy, there is lots of work and at times can be all consuming. Its expensive, and can totally take over, sometimes at the detriment to her other three academic subjects. We were in a field at midnight last week with torches, burning wood and other strange items,in order for her to get the right shot for her first final piece :)
However, she absolutely loves it, would like to get into St Martins for a foundation and degree course.

She is also predicted good grades in her other subjects.
In my opinion there is so much work involved in both GCSE and A level art your DD really needs to love the subject.

runaroundstartsnow · 10/02/2011 11:19

Choose what she enjoys, but if it comes to A'level its very difficult to get on Art A'level without the GCSE but easy to do History without the GCSE.
DD is currently choosing A'levels and all the colleges have agreed she can do History even though she has not done it previously, but she has had to do a huge amount of outside work to build up a portfolio for Art interviews as she did not do a GCSE in this either.
Plus 1 college still will not give her a place on Art A'level even though she has a great portfolio and attends Art classes out of school and has done for years as they do not think she will cope with the coursework Hmm

crystalglasses · 10/02/2011 11:25

She should choose the subject she really wants to do.

grovemum · 10/02/2011 17:12

Daughter is currently in year 10 doing Art and it is definitely the heaviest of all her GCSE subjects - a lot of work needs to be done outside of class and you need a real commitment. She also does History and really enjoys it - it seems to taught in a very imaginative way nowadays. For example much more emphasis on contemporary documents etc. In her school they will only let you do History A' level if you have A/A* at GCSE.

EduStudent · 11/02/2011 00:39

Art is bloody hard as a GCSE, the sheer amount of work that needs to be put in. Unless she is absolutely set on art, I would encourage her to do History. I did both, Art was by far the most demanding of all my GCSEs.

thekidsmom · 11/02/2011 09:26

Definitely agree with EduStudent - of all the GCSEs my children have done, Art is by far the most demanding and time consuming - more so than textiles, music or any 'academic' subject....

The only way to get a good grade is if you really love if and see it as enjoyment - but I reckon my DD did on average as much Art each week as all her other subjects put together.... (and got the same grade in all of them, just saying so you can make a comparison...)

bambiandthumper · 11/02/2011 16:42

History

TBH they cary the same amount of work, if not more so for art, but it carries none of the academic waiting that history does.

BelligerentGhoul · 11/02/2011 16:50

Personally I'd get her to drop the Italian and do both Art and History plus her other MFLs. That way she has a Humanities subject (needed for the Bac) and the art to show her creativity (much better and more highly respected than Graphics ime though I see she has to do the Graphics). 3 languages seems OTT to me.

eatyourveg · 11/02/2011 19:29

History for the EBac by the time she gets to uni it may be a pre-requisite

GrimmaTheNome · 11/02/2011 19:36

I'd point out to the school they're buggering their EBac stats by enforcing RS instead of History or Geography. (But then my DD wouldn't be at a faith school in the first place so ignore meGrin)

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 11/02/2011 19:58

Thing is Grimma there is a statutory obligation to teach RE until the end of KS4 (for all schools not just faith schools)so most schools figure that pupils might as well do the exam since they are doing the work anyway.

pointylug · 11/02/2011 20:10

At our school, the pupils have one RE lesson a week if they don't choose it as an exam.

No need to do an exam in it at all.

eveline22 · 11/02/2011 20:32

Im not clear why you are so against her taking art for GCSE, especially if she enjoys it?

Why do you think History is a better option?

Art is usually 60% coursework, 40% final timed test, so not all coursework.

It is a subject which encourages problem solving, visual awareness and creativity, all very useful for the future.

pointydog · 11/02/2011 20:56

It is claimed that history is more highly thought-of by top unis.

BelligerentGhoul · 11/02/2011 21:06

And she HAS to have either History or Geography to count on the Bac figures, which are published - so I'm surprised that the school doesn't seem to be making at least one of them a necessity.

RE is demanded by law - so they might as well get a GCSE in it - otherwise they're studying it for nothing.

pointydog · 11/02/2011 21:13

The dds don't "study" RE. They doss around for one period a week while the guy shares a bit of churchy chat.

Original poster
SugarSkyHigh · 11/02/2011 21:13

At parents' evening the other night, the RE teacher claimed that admissions officers / employers will often look at a pupil's RE GCSE result if they went to a catholic school, because they know that RE would have been compulsory and therefore it can be quite telling how well a pupil has knuckled down and studied at a subject that they have not chosen. Hmm The more I think about that, the more dubious I am - because of course maths and english and science are also compulsory and who likes all of those? (one or two maybe, but all 3)?

Eveline - I am not against her taking Art, if you look back at my previous posts. it would quite pain me to see her drop that, because Art is quite a Big Thing in our family.

This Ebac thing however really is bothering me now. Yes I am quite surprised that the school doesn't seem bothered by it!

OP posts:
Original poster
SugarSkyHigh · 11/02/2011 21:15

LOL @ churchy chat!

OP posts:
GrimmaTheNome · 11/02/2011 21:15

RE is demanded by law - so they might as well get a GCSE in it - otherwise they're studying it for nothing.

What, not for the good of their souls? Grin

A lot of places just do one lesson pw - thats all DD does in KS3. Actually I can't find it mentioned at all on my DDs school curriculum past KS3 except as optional GCSE...
Presumably if your school insisted on it and your child couldn't do the options they needed to without dropping it, you could just do the religion opt-out thing at that point.

sorry, off topic meander!

pointydog · 11/02/2011 21:16

Sound slike rubbish to me.

BelligerentGhoul · 11/02/2011 21:16

'Churchy chat' - we didn't even get that in our RE lessons. The teacher used to sit at the front and ooze whilst we ate midget gems and played covert poker.

pointydog · 11/02/2011 21:18

Poker would be provide a huge leap forward in teh dds' education during RE time. It is quite outrageous, really.

LadyGlencoraPalliser · 11/02/2011 21:28

They call RE Philosophy at DD's school (the exam board course title is Philosophy, Theology and Ethics) which is so disingenuous it makes my teeth itch.

pointydog · 11/02/2011 21:35

It's called Religious and Moral Philosophical Studies (RMPS) up here.

crystalglasses · 11/02/2011 23:37

Ladyglencora, why does it make your teeth itch. Are you saying that the GCSE is disingenuous because it is just RE in a dressed up form?
If so i have to take issue with you as my dd1 did this GSE and I can vouch for the fact that it was so much more than a study of religion ans it addressed the big subjects in society from an ethical and moral perspective and so encouraged analytical thought and the challenging of commonplace assumptions. For example she learnt about the nature of belief; moral, ethical and cultural arguments for and against abortion; the role of ideology; meanings of community and the influence of some of the great ancient and modern philosophers.

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