Will my daughter be bored doing a BTec?

[FiveHoursSleep]

DD2 got her GCSE results yesterday and did better than expected.
She was predicted mainly 5s and 6s after her mocks. I know these aren't terrible marks but she goes to a partially selective school and has a very academic sister one school year ahead, so we've not been able to shake her conviction that she's not capable of A levels.
Her actual marks were mostly a bit better. She got a 9 for art which is her passion, an 87 for double science, 7s for both English Lit and Lang, 6 for maths and a couple of 5s for her option subjects.
She did work much harder at her other subjects once Art was out of the way!
Anyhow, she was planning to leave her school as there were no A levels offered that really interested her and go to a local college and do a course in Digital Gaming.
She's hoping to go to university to study animation or Concept Art, something art based anyhow!
But since she got her results, we've had some pressure for her to reconsider some A levels and go elsewhere.
We've been told she's likely to get bored with a BTEC.
I really don't know much about them, apart from the fact there are no exams, which was what we were trying to avoid.
Can anyone comment? DD has to enrol for her course next week!

I think she should follow her gut and do the BTEC. Coming out of year 13 with distinction* x 3 will get her into pretty much any uni.

Well done to her on achieving such good grades.
If she did go on to the sixth form, what subjects would she study? Apart from Art, are there two other subjects she likes enough to study them for two years?

BTEC all the way, if there is a good creative course near you.

I just posted on another thread about my daughter's experience - she did much worse than your DD and ended up doing a Media Production BTEC at level 2. It was a lot of work but manageable - she loved the assignments and having gone in with appalling grades she's just been awarded a starred Distinction, and is heading back to college next week to do Level 3 BTECs in Media and Graphic Design. I didn't know a lot about Media - depends a lot on the college and the tutor; she had a very inspiration tutor who got them doing high-level stuff (animated titles, short films) and told them that on some assignments they were doing uni-level work.

I think she may well end up studying media at a creative uni, one of the ex-art schools, like Arts University Bournemouth. Having researched it (and slightly working in the area), there are some solid job prospects for good students. The unis might not figure on the Mumsnet radar, but they deliver employable graduates.

If she does A level art and standard A levels she will end up doing a foundation year - BTEC usually covers this requirement. I'd go look at the course.

There is a popular study Youtuber, Laur Medley, who is doing BTEC Media - have a look at some of her videos.

Alternatively, is there anywhere locally where she can do Art A-level and BTEC Diploma alongside it? I think it would be unwise to sign up for A-levels in subjects she has no interest in.

Ironoaks, not at her present school, no.
She's not really that interested in anything else although she quite liked maths.
She's been told that she will be one of the few young people at the college who will not be resitting maths or English, and I think this is what has put her off a bit.

Sorry, I should have said, the BTEC is fine if she is already absolutely passionate about art/gaming and doesn't want to keep her options open. She has done really well!

Is it possible for her to do a combination of A levels and BTEC? Concept art often requires excellent drawing which I guess A level art will deliver.

I was burbling about Media, by the way, as the course that DD did covered film-making, special effects, graphic design and animation. So not a million miles away. Sounds like she has lots of options!

Before committing to the course, she should research a few university courses she likes the look of, check they include BTEC in their entry requirements and then she has something to aim for. She can also see what grades are needed.

If the courses she is aiming for are asking for D* grades then she will need to be organised from the start, making sure she completes each assignment at the required level. Her Art GCSE grade shows that she is capable of consistently completing coursework to a very high standard.

Thanks for the replies. She could move to a 6th form that does BTECs and A levels but she didn't really enjoy GCSE art. DD has ASD so likes what she likes, and gets anxious trying new things.
She likes drawing and painting and coloured pencils, plus digital art but doesn't want to try sculpture or modelling etc. She had a hard time with her teacher who predicted her a 5 for art, or a 6 if she was lucky, and was always putting DDs work down.
As long as she's kept busy she should be okay. I just don't want it to be too easy for her so she loses interest.

Orange, the media course your DD did sounds quite similar.

My DD did Art, Photography and Business Studies A level and wasn’t required to do a Foundation Year. However if she wants to pick and choose the curriculum, I think A level Art can be skewed a bit to your interests. My DD included fashion design, construction of garments and crochet! I would check out how well Art A level is taught though. DD had amazing teachers for both her arts subjects but changed school for this. Art was useless at her previous school. The A level can be an excellent prep for a degree so don’t dismiss it and ask about what is available within the syllabus. DD didn’t do any sculpture or modelling.

I did a btec in fashion and knitwear, and was not bored. The course work that you need to produce for an arts related btec is extensive and often self directed, so she will be able to get totally stuck into something that she loves. My btec also came with lessons in contextual studies which related to the history of art (all the big art movements were covered) and how it inspires and transfers to the chosen discipline.

I did A-levels and then a btec and still ended up in an unrelated insurance job, before eventually making it to uni 5 years later to train to be a nurse. There’s no way of knowing how her academic or professional future will pan out so you might as well just let her go for whatever she wants to do, while she remains passionate about learning.

I think a BTEC Level 3 will be a good fit for her. About half of our Level 2s will be re-taking one or both of their English & Maths GCSEs, but they won’t be accepted onto Level 3 without 4s for these and so none of our Level 3s will be re-taking.

I do not think the problem would be boredom but would she be able to split her time between A levels. She may not be able to pull off the rise in grades in her A levels after art completion. One course maybe the best way for her to prioritise her time and sets her up for similar experience in degree level.

Dd did a level 3 BTEC alongside 2 A levels. It was a lot of work! They are not a doss!

I agree with Pp that the best thing is to try and get some idea of what she wants to do after A levels and go from there.

I was pressured by my mom into doing A levels when I wanted to do a BTEC. I absolutely hated doing A levels as they were in subjects I wasn't interested in and I didnt do very well. I dropped out after the first year and did a BTEC instead which I loved. I was also told they were too easy but it wasnt as easy as people said and a lot of work went into it. I would let her follow her dream, she'll be much happier for it.

Thank you everyone. I feel I can reassure DD that she should go one and do the BTEC. I feel it'll be a good fit for her and hope she won't find it as stressful as GCSEs!
Heddagarbled, that's a great point re the L3 students not resitting maths or English. The course she wants to do is a L3.

I didn't enjoy ALevels and changed to a BTEC. Had the time of my life doing what I enjoyed and bored? God no.

The course ultimately led to a career in a field I was passionate about.

My BTEC was. 20 years ago so my knowledge is a little out of date. I struggled with my academic posh school, I just freaked at exams. The fact I could do course work and earn grades over time was so much betrer for me. I wish I'd been able to do my gcses that way. I came out with the highest possible distinction because it allowed me to pace myself and no big exam stress

I hope your daughter finds her way 😁

Your daughter will not be bored if she throws herself into it and makes the most of the opportunities that the course and the college will give her. Even people trying to be helpful are implying that A Levels at school are the best option and BTEC or college is for those who don’t achieve high GCSEs. Not always true. Sixth form snobbery is so unhelpful.

She likes drawing and painting and coloured pencils, plus digital art but doesn't want to try sculpture or modelling etc.

Going via the A level route would mean having to do the Arts Foundation year, which will almost certainly require her to use other materials, so if this is an issue BTEC all the way.

For someone who wants to keep busy, likes structure and doesn't like exams I think the BTEC would be very good. It's very organised, with criteria very clearly laid out. To do well, you need to meet all the criteria including the creative aspects. DD was kept very busy, and I think L3 will be a significant step up. She also still really likes the subject, which I think is very encouraging.

I do think in this country there is an unhelpful opposition between academic subjects/creative subjects. Yes, it probably is more likely that other people will be doing Maths retakes but that doesn't necessarily make them the 'wrong' people to hang out with. DD (who is most definitely one of the retake people) ended up spending time with the other people on her course who were super-keen and super-motivated. She's really gifted when it comes to visual arts, and the structure has helped her to achieve her best.

As long as it's a good course and attracts people who are really keen on the subject, she should be fine. Given her passion for the subject, it's quite likely some of the others will be her people.

I wouldn't worry if some of her fellow Level 3 students are resitting maths or English GCSE. Some of the most able creative students have dyslexia and similar difficulties and so struggle with Maths/English. Still just as bright as the others!

Is it the school by any chance that are pressuring her to do the A-Levels now that she's got better grades than what they predicted?

Were they happy to let her go to college before seeing her higher grades than predicted? Did they think she'd be "bored" beforehand?

I ask these questions as a college tutor. Schools seem, from my perspective, to select the students they want that will help improve their league-table grades rather than actually caring about the wants or needs of the student involved.

Do the college course. She'll have a blast.

My DD is doing an level 3 extended diploma in art and design.She has good results but this is what she wants to do.
The art A levels all look like fine art and she want to play with diferent media.
I hope both our daughters flourish,if not they have decent GCSEs to fall back on.
The thought of no exams also appeals but she is also aware it will be a lot of hard work.

Gaga Binks, yes some questions from the school. But also from family members and a few remarks from general friends.
She's made up her mind to do the BTec now, so I'm just telling people that's what she wants to do.
It's useful hearing from people who know what they are talking about!

I did a BTEC in computing and IT. It most definitely wasn't boring. There were so many different modules and quite a heavy workload but for me no exams was a huge bonus. I did try A Levels but I found them incredibly difficult despite doing quite well at GCSE. My degree isn't as hard as A Levels