Can you do Art GCSE and still get an EBAC?

[whataboutbob]

DS in yr 9 is very able in Art (has been selected to attend Saturday classes at a local Art School) and would like to do the GCSE. There's also it appears growing pressure to do EBAC subjects and he believes he can't do Art and do an EBAC. He wants to do the core subjects (Obviously) history, german and Art and ideally DT too. Is this unrealistic?
Thank you.

Yes, you can do Art if the options at your particular school also allow you to meet the Ebac requirements. If he did take History and German together with the core subjects then he would be OK. What he takes on top of that matters not (for Ebac). However, whether the school timetable allows for the particular combination he wants is another thing.
Art and DT might be quite heavy in terms of out of school work, something to consider.
And also remember although taking a range of subjects is generally a good idea meeting the requirements of Ebac itself isn't for everyone.

The EBAC is/was a total white elephant.

Who is applying pressure to do the Ebacc? If he wants to do core, history and german and has other options to do the art or whatever, fine - but if the school is telling you he needs to do ebacc for uni applications, they're lying mistaken.

What do you mean by core subjects? I am taking it to mean maths, English and at least double science. If he does those, together with history and German, he will have met the Ebac requirements. There is no advantage to your son in having the Ebac, but there may be to the school.

No reason not to do art, if that is what he wants, as long as the school timetable permits it. He might struggle with art and DT simply because of the amount of time required to producing his portfolio out of the classroom. My DD is 19 now, but I swear the hours put in by her friends doing GCSE art far outweighed anything in any subject my daughter did. But they did finish "early", I think towards the end of April, so did have the advantage of having one subject out of the way when exam season started.

Thanks everyone. I am a bit naive about it all as he's my eldest. He would like to do art but I take he point that that plus DT might be too much. There does seem to be pressure on the students and the parents to choose a combination that complies with ebac.

All EBacc means is they've taken a humanity and a language as well as maths English and science.

And not doing it has no implications whatsoever.

As long as core subjects include Math, English and at least double science, that plus history and German will give him the EBacc (if he thinks that is important). The art and DT will then be 'extra'.

DD is doing something very similar - English x2, Maths, double science, Russian and history will give her the EBacc, then she is also doing Art, DT: Textiles and Philosophy & Ethics.

Dd did art and got a shiny ebacc certificate. It means diddly now she's applying to universities 😄

I know that some people get sniffy about the EBacc but I like it. It's a reminder that it's a good idea to choose a selection of academic subjects (if you are up to it). Otherwise pupils specialise too early - it's better to leave options open and don't specialise until A Level.

MFL had died in many State schools until the EBacc came along.

DS has shown me his form and on top of core subjects he's thinking of doing German, history , art , and design technology. If Art and DT are too much, can he drop one of them later? As an aside, I'm puzzled because he's already talking of dropping Art even though he's clearly talented.

It would be up to the school if he was allowed to drop one. Whether its too much depends on the individual.

Senua - the ebacc isn't a bad idea for 'academic' kids, providing that they have enough options to do other subjects which may be more important to them - with the new gcses meaning most schools have dropped the number allowed, enforcing the ebacc could squeeze out art, music, all the tech subjects, comp sci, drama ... or the other humanities and languages (modern or otherwise) for those who really want to do more than one.

Ignore all pressure to do the Ebacc and let your kid do what interest them. No-one cares about it other than those obsessed with league tables.

That being said I am supportive of MFL being properly resourced. From what I have seen decisions about that have nothing to do with Ebacc though. My son is in a school doing two MFL but no requirement to do a humanity. You can support languages without bending to league table drivel.

Art definitely shouldn't make any difference - it just depends how many options you're allowed! However, I would advise doing art or DT rather than both, unless you know you'll be going into creative arts A levels for sure - it's a lot of coursework.

Thanks everyone it's looking like DT, German, History and core subjects. He believes he has to do RE which seems strange to me so I'm emailing his head of year to double check. DH for some reason is very keen for him to drop german as he thinks he finds it stressful. I'm keen for him to continue with it so (and so is DS) it's a subject DH and I have to avoid.

Re is compulsory so most schools do it as GCSE. I think it's a reasonably easy one, Dd got A* and ds who did hardly any revision got a B in his mock

There is often a half GCSE option for RE that is not too onerous. I think talented people should do Art and DT if they want. I think a third subject such a textiles will be really hard work though. I also think schools should support language teaching to those who need it too. We do not restrict children to just one science these days but are happy to restrict language acquisition to the talented. Some children benefit in having more options, not less. If you do not do two languages at GCSE you restrict your options at university for MFL. No-one would ever do that for a science by not studying Biology at GCSE for example.

enforcing the ebacc could squeeze out art, music, all the tech subjects, comp sci, drama ...

Computer science is counted as a science in the ebacc.

Computer science is counted as a science in the ebacc.

Hopefully not in practice ie instead of actual sciences though, so the squeeze is still there.

The ebacc wasn't a bad idea with the old gcses where able kids could do 11/12, but if they're now typically being limited to 8/9 it's really not going to be ideal for a lot of kids.

There is no advantage to your son in having the Ebac

I disagree, there is every advantage to having a rounded education which is not dominated by one type of subject. We already specialise very early here when we drop all but 3-4 subjects at A level.

If everyone is having to do science, they should also have to do an MFL and a humanity in my view. While it is important to have science, I see no reason why it's more important than a humanity or MFL.

So I totally agree with Maths, English, ONE science, one MFL and one humanity being compulsory for all. Not sure why everyone has to do double (or triple) science though.

I know people will argue against MFL but we are totally backward and insular and maybe if everyone had had to do an MFL and spend time overseas the Brexit vote would be different. And maybe if everyone had an understanding of history in England the Scots would not get so annoyed with us.

But to return to the OP's comment - art should be easy to fit in with an ebacc as long as the school option blocks fit with the combination of subjects.

Thanks everyone for your input. I contacted head of year who said it is hard to drop subjects. He has chosen German, DT, Art, History and RE (the later is compulsory in his school which surprised me as it is not even a faith school). It's done now!