GCSE choices. Computer science v art

[ouch44]

DD is thinking of a career in Computer Science. It's not really something we know a great deal about. She is very interested in coding and cyber security. However, she is also very artistic so wants to try and keep her options open a bit there.

She is hoping to be able to do both Art and CS at GCSE but it might not be possible. She has told school that she would prefer to do CS rather than Art if that is the case. I think it'd be better to do Art as she is unlikely to be able to do A level art without GCSE whereas you can do CS at degree and A level without the GCSE.

Any advice please?

A lot of people seem to regret doing Art GCSE because it is a massive time eater, and they have to do the set Art, rather than their own iyswim?

Check the requirements for Art A level, but she may well be accepted without the GCSE but with a private portfolio.

If she is good at maths and interested in CS, I'd do CS and keep Art as a hobby.

Based purely on having the opportunity to do the subject at A-level then, yes, she should pick Art.
However, keeping options open - what does that really mean.
Has she mentioned anything arty as a career, are there options other than CS (Maths/Physics related, say).
You could combine the two in a career such as (Comp) Games Art/Design.
E.g. www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/courses/details/video-games-art-and-design-ba/57264968 but no subjects required.

Some top-level CS degrees require Maths and some require Maths or CS, as the latter is not offered everywhere.
And you are less likely to need CS A-level going into a degree, rather than needing Art A-level into a related degree.

DD did art - 10% of the exam marks took two days work! There’s a lot more to art than drawing they have to research artists, do mood boards, bring ideas together etc

I’d let her choose if that me why she’s interested in.

She has told school that she would prefer to do CS

Listen to her.

I did both.

I did a software engineering degree and earned £££.

I earned £0 from any artistic endeavours.

My DD is taking art and loves it, but she finds it frustrating that she has to work within the confines of a syllabus and can't just do what she wants.

So, unless GCSE Art is a definite requirement for anything your DD is thinking of, I'd suggest keeping Art as something she does in her own time and taking GCSE CS.

My daughter wants to be a game artist and is doing art at GCSE and will choose A levels in Art, Maths and Biology. From those A levels, she can do a number of different degrees if her interests change.

Computer science degrees really do not need computer science at GCSE or A level, maths is much more important and art is a really good skill to have. Being able to see something in your head and transfer it to a page is a skill that a lot of people don't have.

We approached it by looking at jobs she might be interested in doing, looking at what education is required and then looking at that and working from there on A level choices.

My niece took A level art and then went on to do Art at university. She is 29 now and has only ever earned money as a waitress and lives hand to mouth.

I have read girls are highly sought after in CS.

Listen to your DD and let her take the CS GCSE. Yes, you don’t need it to study CS at A level, but if you take it at GCSE you have a clear advantage at A level. This is because the first 6 months of A level study goes over much of the GCSE CS material at a very fast pace and if you have not done the GCSE CS, as in never learned binary or python coding, you will struggle at A level, perhaps even fail.

It is true that Maths is most important for a traditional CS degree which is mostly more Maths, coding, machine learning and AI. But taking CS at GCSE and A levels give you a better foundation to succeed at degree level than Maths alone.

I’d keep Art as a hobby. My local college does evening and weekend extra classes in Arts, Ceramics, Photography, Dress making- perhaps yours does too? It is usually £120 for eight weeks of course? So she can still get Art skills and gradually build a portfolio without taking the Art GCSE.

I always find it bizarre that DC expect to do their own art at gcse but understand a syllabus is necessary for every other subject. Of course there is a curriculum and DCs and parents should read it before choosing the subject. The same as they would for any other subject. You won’t study your choice of the Normans in History if the curriculum is the Tudors. So the same applies in Art.

I do think an art subject at gcse gives greater breadth. However if DD is into CS then do that. It’s possibly easier for her to get a higher grade in that subject but it’s not necessary for the A level or degree. Also consider Computer Engineering. I’ve come across several young people who don’t like their CS degree. Half the problem is having to go to third tier universities due to less great A level results.

@TizerorFizz Totally agree. They have a grading criteria in art, like in every other subject. It would be ridiculously difficult to fairly assess if each student just did entirely what they wanted to.

For art GCSE there is a certain amount of leeway though, my daughter has done pottery, oils, watercolours, pencil and acrylics.

She's also studied the works of Grayson Perry, Guy Denning, Gerard Gethings, Barbara Walker and Jenny Saville who are all very different.

@MrsPnut
Yes, schools do have options for DC but I think the issue is that DC don’t want ceramics. Oils, watercolours, pencil and acrylics. They just want, for example, oils! They might just want to produce cartoons. My DD did A level art and enjoyed all sorts of media. Some don’t seem to relish that and want a very narrow diet.

@TizerorFizz But they can just use a narrow palate if they want, there are DC using just oils but doing it in different ways.

That was just an example but they cannot just paint with oils and do nothing else as I understand it. There must be some breadth.,

I would do the CS. She wants to.
Re A levels, my DC did three A levels in subjects they had not taken for GCSE. One was photography A level: hadn’t taken art or photography at GCSE, and that was still fine.

Thanks for all the replies. I am absolutely listening to what she wants to do. My DM wouldn't let me do what I wanted for A level and I've held it against her ever since! Just trying to get some advice and perspectives from others.

Have heard from school this afternoon and they are trying to make it possible to do both as there are a few of them who want to. We have also been told it may be possible to do Art A level with a portfolio. Not guaranteed though.
So the thinking at the mo is to do CS and something else if Art isn't available.

DD declined to do art because she didn't want to stop loving art (seeing it, making it). Her actual plan is to earn heaps of money so she can afford original art.

Considers herself to have dodged a bullet, such was the time suck she saw art GCSE be for friends.

DD did comp sci instead -- happy with that choice!

Art is good to do with comp-sci for game designers, if doing both is an option.

She does seem to have a good understanding of what is involved in Art GCSE. We've been on YouTube looking at videos about what is involved and she knows it is lots of work that can include staying after school, studying various artists etc.

Yes I have read a lot about people doing Art GCSE and it putting them off on the Student Room. Another thing that puts me off is that there is an Art teacher at school that is very strict. A friends DS gave up Art GCSE at her school because he got her and it just killed his love for the subject. At the end of the day the decision is hers though.