A Levels - Art, DT, EPQ and…. ?

[Mydogiscalledsam]

Really struggling with the one.
DS wants to do art, art and more art.
Aiming to go to arts college or university to do something, you guessed it, art related.

Is planning on doing Art, DT and EPQ.
Will be moving onto Arts Award Gold as an after school thing (currently finishing off silver).

But what goes well with these?

Really struggling, going round in circles and we have until Friday to put the form in. Nothing else interests him. He can’t wait to finish this year and just do what he wants art related things.

Echoing PPs. Whatever he enjoys doing! Entry to art school will be mostly based on the portfolio, not on subjects/grades. A lot of good, selective, art schools give unconditional offers if they like the portfolio.

I'd drop politics from the list.

It's heavy on theory/ philosophy and requires a lot of essays.

30 miles to the nearest college?
What on earth do less academic kids do round your way? (Or do the school 6th forms all offer a range of BTECs too?)

We have had this conversation on MN before. Until you live in an area like the OP does you wouldn't believe how bad choice (and public transport) are!

It actually isn't. It's heavy on parliament and organisation of political groups and the HOC. I thought it was really dull when DS did it - but, compared to eg RS , sociology and history it is lighter on the essay requirements and far lighter on theory than sociology and RS.

But I don't think the OP's DS should do it notwithstanding.

I think the BTecs in business or DM are the way to go.

He's gone with BTEC business for now. That will at least fill the application form in.

Had the conversations that things can change between now and September, so what he’s put down isn’t defiantly what he will end up doing. That sped up the decision making process a bit.

Im still going to investigate college logistics and if there are easier/better ways to get him there, and investigate the school near the grandparents.

Plan is also to apply to one of the sixth forms in another town, they already offer Art, DT and EPQ but, with a bit of digging on their website, they are planning to offer BTEC L3 Art and Design equivalent to one A level in September if there is enough interest. Their deadline is a few weeks away so we have time. Have a feeling I’ll become a taxi for 2 years if this one works out, no idea how we’ll manage it, but it’ll probably be worth it.

Id like to thank everyone for their help. The biggest thank you for mentioning the portfolio requirements, how things are going towards digital and importance of understanding business. This has 100% been taken on board. My eyes into the world of art have been well and truly opened. I have a much better understanding and I think DS does as well. He’s realised there is a lot out there that is art related for him to explore which our middle of nowhere back of beyond location doesn’t expose us to, and he definitely left for school a little happier this morning.

@Mydogiscalledsam
He doesn’t need to leave school. The A levels will be fine. He most likely will be asked for 2 anyway. Plus the portfolio! So make sure he nails his art snd dt. It’s a great shame he cannot do photography. With great teaching it’s very enjoyable and good candidates do well in it. My DD really got into it.

I would look into where he might go for a foundation or go straight to university. I wouldn’t want hours of travel either although I know people years ago who did it. Rural living has always seen a dearth of art courses!

Good point about the 2 A levels @TizerorFizz. Thats sort of what I was meaning when I was saying it’s not the final decision. The BTEC business just helps to fill the application form in and we have found some additional options to explore. Which is good.
It was mentioned also by @Dragon22 about the 2 A Levels and how the points work, thank you for that Dragon, was most helpful and useful to know, it’s nice to have two people saying the same thing and it’s also echoed in university admissions requirements.

I think if he couldn’t go to college, the two A level route, plus his EPQ which will undoubtfully be art based, and the Arts award would give him a good grounding whilst also leaving time for him to work towards building a portfolio.

DS and I had the conversation last night, if things are going more digital, there’s the option of using the EPQ to explore that, so I don’t think he would be missing out on anything. I do think he really does need to nail whatever he does because if college can’t be logistically sorted he will be going straight to university. Another reason I’m really liking the 2 A Level suggestions, again, he can work in what he likes and what he needs to without worrying about something else.

As art is very much on portfolio, you don’t need an academic type A level as well. BTec is fine. If he’s willing to travel to get what he wants, so be it. Although DD has career changed, her art background means she thinks creatively. Technology and digital art is clearly a source of work. Cad and other programs are widely used in creative jobs. Sometimes earning outweighs pure art!

My DD is doing art , textiles and geography, she has loved the textiles course probably more than the art, it is very design based. Also re doing 2 courses. She has just got place on art foundation course at good university as this is still probably the best route in to study art at uni. She submitted portfolio and requires only 72 ucas points to get on . This is doable with 2 a levels or equivalent.

He’s realised there is a lot out there that is art related for him to explore which our middle of nowhere back of beyond location doesn’t expose us to
Expose him to it. Take him to the cities where there's more going on so he can see. Days out, weekend trips. It'll be worth it.

A brilliant pieces of advice for artists/creatives is to Stay On The Bus. He may not need this advice right now, but knowing it may be useful in the future.

I’ve tried to expose as much as possible. We’ve done art galleries, museums, been and seen some landscape art in the middle of the country, I managed to get him a weekend working alongside a wildlife photographer.

I say he’s had his eyes opened, but I have too. There’s so much out there that I just didn’t know existed. It’s hard to expose when you don’t know it exists. Things like VFX for TV and stage design as well as costume design. I don’t know how I didn’t because it’s obvious now that I think about it. I think it’s living in the middle of nowhere combined with my own lack of exposure when I was younger thats caused the ignorance of it. I’m always happy to learn something new and do my best for him to give him the opportunities I never had. I’ll certainly be looking for opportunities to expose him to some of the new things that have been discovered.

@DogInATent that’s a good but if advice in the link you shared. Thank you.

I think digital media could be really good. Tv and film work is often amazing art, but art to a brief and if you are lower down not as much creativity. But it is a fascinating area to go into.

For most of my DD's school years, wildlife photography was a major hobby! However, it's very niche as a career, and now she is at art school studying illustration. There are so many small specialised courses out there, and many students do an "art foundation" after sixth form to discover which area of art/design appeals to them. Lots of helpful people here on MN if your DS pursues that path!

My DD was certain after half a term that she didn't want to pursue A levels (Art, Film Studies, Sociology) despite doing well.
She moved to another 6th Form College to do this UAL full time course. She stayed on for the foundation year.
She has ended up with a wide portfolio and a lot of evidence of her development of ideas in her work. She has just applied to do interior design and got an unconditional offer, a low conditional and 2 interviews on the back of her portfolio and personal statement.
It wasn't a course that we were aware of when she was applying for 6th form.

@Pomtiddly
DD retrained to do interior design but did a Diploma course. She enjoyed it and got a top prize on the course. @Mydogiscalledsam I slightly missed that DS looked at Business. Now DD is working for a small business it’s been useful! He just needs to sim for a great portfolio and get into art school. DD had to get CC at A level for LCF a few years ago but that’s pretty standard from art schools too.

Can I suggest that you look into art foundation courses, whilst there are no tuition fees to pay if you go straight to foundation from A levels there is also no maintenance loan. So you’d have to fund all his living costs. We are fortunate enough to have two excellent art Universities within commuting distance so dc could stay at home while they did their foundation and obviously moved away for their degree.

while you can go straight into a degree from A levels and skip the foundation I wouldn’t recommend it. Everyone I know who did an art degree says the kids who didn’t do a foundation struggled to adjust to a more free way of going about their practice.