GCSE Options.....feel sorry for DD

[Verbena37]

DD is in year 9 and we have their options evening tonight. We've already had the literature for each subject along with the form and DD is so anxious and stressed about it all now.

So their form says choose one from option A (geog, hist or triple science) and three from option B and a reserve. Bless her, she just doesn't know what she really wants to do with her life but if she chooses one path (relating to zoos), she would need A level biology and to take triple science. If she doesn't go down the zoo route, she won't need to take triple. But how on earth, aged 13, are they supposed to know.

We are telling her to try and keep it as broad as possible but it's very hard to choose which GCSE path to take unless you pretty much choose your career now!

Oh god- GCSE art! I'm still scarred 4 years later!!

Bertrand For some unfathomable reason UCL have not asked me my opinion .
I think instinctively I agree with them and admire them for taking a stance. A part of me wonders, practically, how engaged some of those students might be on those courses if it seen as a hoop to get through.

Boneyback
She is taking Art because she is very talented at art and enjoys it a lot. Also, as well working in a zoo, she is possibly thinking of photography at uni, in which case, art would be useful.
She is taking it as a less academic option and yes, fun. A two day exam in art for her is fun .

Verbena I know some very talented young artists who started off the same as your DD but by the end the workload drained the enjoyment out of it. It does depend on the art teacher. Some seem to manage by giving a fairly reasonable workload without it being detrimental to their students' final grades. Others behave as though art is the main subject of the student rather than just one of many and expect their students to be as prolific as Hockney.

RE art: I just have to say, ds very nearly wasn't allowed (by me!) to take two art subjects after all I'd read on here about how much work they are but his HOD told us told us we were being ridiculous and that the workload was absolutely fine.

And, okay, it's only 10 weeks into yr 10, but honestly, he has FAR less work from these 2 subjects than from his others. Maths, English, sciences, his humanity, I would say he easily has double the homework per subject than art or graphics. Now, he does go along to one lunchtime session to work on his portfolios, and is in very small classes but so far, his teacher and not mn has been right!

When DD1 took her options she was interested in art as her non academic option as she's quite arty and enjoys it. We spoke to her art teacher who advised that unless she see's her future as being in an art or design related career then it was best not to choose it because it involves an awful lot of homework and it's hard to prioritise the other stuff. This has proven to be good advice as there's no way she could cope with more than she gets. Mind you she decided on PE in the end and that's proven to be surprisingly homework heavy.

Ralph I know a DC who did both DT and art, achieving top grades and was absolutely fine as well although had a lot of work from the spring halfterm of Y11. As I said it seems to depend on the teachers. If my DCs were in the position of choosing art options I would just be careful to ask some older pupils at the same school. before they decided.

Thanks Ralph and Temporary. I get the wobbles when I read the horror stories on MN about Art and Graphics as I have a DD doing both for fun. I had exactly the same conversation with the HOD. An Art / Practical and an IT related subject are both compulsory at DDs' school. I think all of the options have the potential to be a heavy workload.

One of my DCs loved art when younger but was put off doing it for GCSE because of the workload and perception that it could n't be done unless you were very talented and serious about potentially carrying on the subject. I think in my ideal word some of these creative subjects should be offered as short courses to allow at least some opportunity for 'amateur creatives'.

Verbena

I hope that she does well.

Ralph and Temporary

I suspect those that struggle are those that either go in to the subject thinking its just a laugh and don't take it seriously and those that struggle with organisation.

All of the pupils that I know have said that it was a lot of work.

Fwiw I strongly advised my dd NOT to do Art because of the workload. She did it in a year, loved it and got an A. We were all gobsmacked!

She also did triple science.

She is very diligent which helped with the art.

All triple science does is make the transition to science A levels a bit less of a shock.