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Secondary education

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Original poster

If anyone's child is considering Art GCSE, a word to the wise.....<bitter experience>

121 replies

cyb · 14/02/2012 16:21

MAKE SURE your child keeps their art book up to date as the term progresses.

That means not only completeing the final pieces for each topic (which my D had done) but also all the research, photographs, reflections and investigations that led them to their final outcome (which my D has not done)

So this half term she has been working from 8.30am until 10pm to fill all the gaps in her bloody Art book

I am trying VERY hard not to say I TOLD YOU SO and I'm choking, frankly

She thinks she's going shopping in Camden market tomorrow

CHINNY RECKON

OP posts:
Yellowstone · 17/02/2012 10:24

Art, Music, PE all have great merit in allowing a breather from the more black letter subjects.

I give mine completely free rein.

thetasigmamum · 17/02/2012 10:31

Yellowstone I say I gave DD1 free reign but if I'm honest I've been brainwashing her on oh so many things since the minute she was born Grin And it's been very effective. Except that she doesn't like footy. On the other hand while she doesn't like footy she is in no doubt of which is the greatest team the world has ever seen and which is the spawn of the devil. So that's ok Grin

If I'm completely honest I think she would have done better to do drama rather than geography since it fits better with the sort of career path she wants but on the other hand she might change her mind and she has always had stellar geog grades, so......plus we had that whole 'we advise the students to only select one out of art, music and drama' rubbish with the options info. Apparently there is no problem with having 3 sciences plus Maths but to have two arty subjects also would be just too 'unbalanced' Hmm

Yellowstone · 17/02/2012 10:40

But that advice is more of a caution about the workload theta, isn't it?

I might have to examine my conscience about sublimininal brainwashing though - possibly guilty :)

thetasigmamum · 17/02/2012 10:45

yellowstone When I look at the focus placed on the arts in the school, and compare it to the school DS is at - no, I think it's all to do with the leadership of the school and where they want to place the focus. Also the letter which was sent out last year specifically mentioned the danger of an unbalanced curriculum - workload wasn't mentioned at all. Mind you having said that they didn't push the Ebacc at all which surprised me, perhaps this is because realistically they didn't want too many people doing history or geography given the number of staff available, but still.

Original poster
cyb · 17/02/2012 10:50

The art workload is large but def manageable if your child does what they are supposed to do when they are supposed to do it

I'm guilty of assuming that because my daughter is 16, responsible and intelligent she could manage her time

How wrong I was......

OP posts:
HillyWallaby · 17/02/2012 11:46

thetasigmamum I know very well History is not at all easy - far from it. My, my eldest did it at A level, and almost chose it for his degree. But my DS2's teacher begged him not to drop it at GCSE because he was working to a high level then, and she said he would be more then capable of getting a A or A* and it was a wasted opportunity which she fouynd frustrating! (that's assuming he actually did the work obviously - but I'm talking about his intellectual capability here, some people could work really really hard and still not get more than a C.)

seeker · 17/02/2012 12:33

Nobody "walks an A" in GCSE history!

MollyBroom · 17/02/2012 12:49

I have known students walk an A or even an A* in GCSE subjects including history. It isn't usual but it does happen . Very often they find Year 12 a huge struggle as for the first time they have to work and try.

MollyBroom · 17/02/2012 12:51

We don't really push the ebacc because we recognise that it is a measure for schools rather than pupils and our first duty is to the pupils and not league tables. We are lucky that we have a reputation that allows us to do that.

We do mention the ebacc, when able students have their options interview it is referred to but we don't push it.

marshmallowpies · 17/02/2012 12:59

Re. 'walking' subjects at GCSE - I changed from a secondary to a grammar school after GCSE to do my A Levels, and when I got to my new school was amazed to hear some of the grammar pupils say they hadn't bothered to revise for their GCSEs, just turned up on the day and done them! (And all got As and Bs naturally).

I had revised really hard to get the grades I needed to get into that school so was a bit horrified by the blase attitude.

Some of those people got nasty shocks at A Level and degree level, though, when they discovered you couldn't just 'breeze' through those exams...

HillyWallaby · 17/02/2012 16:24

Oh ok then - Hmm FFS!! Grin Not 'walked it' of course not - my other son had to work hard for his A, and worked really hard for his A level, but missed an A by only 2 marks and got a B .

By 'walking it' I just meant that it would have been easily/realistically within his grasp and capability had he bothered to make an effort. That's all!

thishalfterm · 17/02/2012 17:54

What makes the difference between an A in GCSE Art and an A*?

Dd is considering doing Art. Sigh.

Moominmammacat · 17/02/2012 18:15

Music is a doddle if you are already post Grade 5 for the performance because that is a third of the exam done without any work. Get your compositions done and revised early (this is very dependent on having a good teacher) and the listening paper should be common sense. My idle DS did it two years early and got an A* but one of my others did it at school and struggled because of poor teaching.

Original poster
cyb · 17/02/2012 19:19

thishalfterm I think its the amount of research, reflection,and explanantion for how they have come to their final outcome

All this seems to need to be quite specific, well on the Higher one it is

OP posts:
Original poster
cyb · 17/02/2012 19:19

And when I say amount I mean quality

OP posts:
thishalfterm · 17/02/2012 20:33

Thanks. And thanks for the heads up in the thread. Smile Hope you and your dd survive it all...

BestIsWest · 17/02/2012 20:42

Glad I have seen this. DS has suddenly got it in to his head that he not only wants to do Art but 3 Dimensional Design(WJEC Course) which his school has never done before, he would be the first and only one in the year. He has always made 'things' out of bits and pieces but I have never known him to willingly pick up a pencil or paintbrush in his life. His teacher is very encouraging but I have my doubts.

He'll also be taking Music, History, Triple Science and a language so I am not worried about his options but having seen DD who was a good artist and a hard worker scrape a B I'm not sure whether I should encourage him or not. The other choice would be Drama which I think he would be better at.

I'm also remembering that I desperately wanted to take O level Art but was made to take Chemistry instead by my dad - and I've always regretted it.

Fairyliz · 18/02/2012 19:45

My dd1 is doing A levels Art,Textiles,Graphics and Maths. I am drinking a lot!
But she has been offered a place at De Montfort Uni on the Foundation Course which is good news.

dottygamekeeper · 21/02/2012 23:27

My ds is doing art and textiles, and both seem to involve far more homework than all his other subjects (Maths, Eng, Geog, French, Triple Science), textiles in particular. Luckily he loves both, and is happy to spend hours doing it, but is setting his expectations very high in terms of the grades he wants, and his future career, and I am just hoping that hard work (and natural ability - I think/hope) will pay off. Dd is just about to choose her options and I am very relieved that she does not want to take textiles. Like many other posters I had totally underestimated the amount of effort Art and Textiles would involve, having envisaged them as relief from the hard work of the more 'academic' subjects.

ArtyGirl123 · 24/04/2015 21:30

I chose Art GCSE thinking that it would be my fun subject for year 11 after deeply regretting opting for two years of history the year before and a boring year of business studies. I couldn't have been more wrong... Only when I actually started was I told that it was a TWO year course that we would be doing in (less than) ONE year. I had to balance a mountain of course work along side my (more important) other subjects and that was only the beginning of my nightmare. During this time I had been super stressed, but I was mostly enjoying art nonetheless. This was, however, until some little brat stole my sketchbook with, like, half my course work! I was, and still am, incredibly furious.

At the start of the course, I took the occasional photo of my work, but soon stopped because I figured that my work (like everyone elses in my class), like it should be, would be safe at school. Apparently it wasn't. And now, a two months later, no one has been found guilty of the theft, punished or returned my stuff. The coursework deadline is next week. My teacher suggested re-doing the 'missing' work, but there is absolutely no way I would have time for that now, nor should I have to re-do it since it's not my fault it's gone and I spent hours of my time slaving away on it like everyone else in my class. It's not fair. I know I'm ranting (sorry), but I've literally never regretted anything more in my life. By the time I had to do my final piece (which I did actually photograph in case the same brat decided to steal it somehow), I had literally lost the will to carry on. My sketchbook contained some really vital things, and without it, I doubt I'll get more than a C which isn't fair either because (without sounding overly big-headed) I know I could have got way higher or at least of had a better chance at getting something decent if it hadn't been for that incident.

Tip: If you're gonna choose art, TAKE PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF EVERYTHING and NEVER leave anything at school unless you have to.

ArtyGirl123 · 24/04/2015 21:32

I chose Art GCSE thinking that it would be my fun subject for year 11 after deeply regretting opting for two years of history the year before and a boring year of business studies. I couldn't have been more wrong... Only when I actually started was I told that it was a TWO year course that we would be doing in (less than) ONE year. I had to balance a mountain of course work along side my (more important) other subjects and that was only the beginning of my nightmare. During this time I had been super stressed, but I was mostly enjoying art nonetheless. This was, however, until some little brat stole my sketchbook with, like, half my course work! I was, and still am, incredibly furious.

At the start of the course, I took the occasional photo of my work, but soon stopped because I figured that my work (like everyone elses in my class), like it should be, would be safe at school. Apparently it wasn't. And now, a two months later, no one has been found guilty of the theft, punished or returned my stuff. The coursework deadline is next week. My teacher suggested re-doing the 'missing' work, but there is absolutely no way I would have time for that now, nor should I have to re-do it since it's not my fault it's gone and I spent hours of my time slaving away on it like everyone else in my class. It's not fair. I know I'm ranting (sorry), but I've literally never regretted anything more in my life. By the time I had to do my final piece (which I did actually photograph in case the same brat decided to steal it somehow), I had literally lost the will to carry on. My sketchbook contained some really vital things, and without it, I doubt I'll get more than a C which isn't fair either because (without sounding overly big-headed) I know I could have got way higher or at least of had a better chance at getting something decent if it hadn't been for that incident.

Tip: Keep evidence of everything

ElizabethHoover · 24/04/2015 21:34

the kid in the OP is now at University

DOING ART

v old zombie thread

ParkingFred · 24/04/2015 21:42

My ds loved art and was a talented sketcher and painter, but art GCSE seems to have stopped him enjoying it.

He went from being 'artist of the month' constantly to losing all motivation. I can't say his workload was huge, as he seemed to do the bare minimum in y12, apart from a couple of late night rush jobs.

He was predicted A* and got an A - somehow. He regrets doing it at GCSE and feels he was pressured into doing it by the art dept and a bit by me - I thought it would be an enjoyable 'soft' subject. The only good thing, he reckons, is that no revision was required.

BertieBotts · 24/04/2015 21:48

It is a zombie thread but it's a brilliant answer to a thread somebody posted the other day, so not bad bumping. I'm going to share.

Asterisk · 25/04/2015 09:39

Ha ha... I remember this thread as my DD was about to do GCSE art. Now, two years later, we survived it... Just. The workload was phenomenal and it was really tough in the beginning where standards seemed impossible. But by the time DD had got the hang of the sketchbook idea, doing at least a spread a week and learning to be less perfectionist, she did end up enjoying it and got an A*. She is now doing photography AS over two years as an extra and enjoying it v much, especially as her other subjects are essay-heavy. The amount of work required for GCSE art can take the joy out of it. I think it suits those that can work quickly and those that are conscientious and work consistently throughout the year. If you have the sort of DC that needs a lot of 'encouragement' to do homework, I would caution against it. Such a shame that the syllabus is set up like it is. Everyone should have the chance to enjoy being creative, but there is very little room for this in the art curriculum which emphasises process and development rather than originality IMHO.

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