Going under from GCSE coursework

[mumofteennotfun]

My DD is in year 11 and took both DT and art GCSEs. If only we could ago back in time!
She is really struggling with the coursework workload and deadlines. She is a bit of a perfectionist which doesn’t help and work is taking her hours and hours when I am sure it shouldn’t be.
She hasn’t even started revising yet as she is just drowning in coursework!
Just wondered if any other teens are going through similar?

But there are sports clubs that need coaches, outdoor pursuits etc.
There are restaurants that need chefs, and front of house staff with an understanding of meals.
There are orchestras and bands and choirs that need performers and conductors.
There are theatres that need actors and and behind scenes staff
There are places up and down the country that need artwork, or graphics done for leaflets, products and advertising.

These subjects aren't about manufacturing.

To me it is a matter of emphasis. Teach the practical and through it the theory. Or teach and examine the theory and thrown in a bit of practical. I prefer the former.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow what? There is a hugely valuable and world renowned UK fashion industry, architecture, interior and product design, the music industry and our creatives - in film and tv, theatre and fine arts - are massively in demand worldwide. There is still manufacturing here too, just not like it was in the past. They are strong now but will not be for long. Making art an academic subject is just complete rubbish and is useful for precisely no one. That’s why the overseas students are taking over our art schools!

I was talking about DT

As l said, they are available and schools can run them.

Graphic designers usually have a degree as do set designers/lighting/costume design. It’s very difficult to access these professions without degrees.

Degrees are neither here nor there when you are taking GCSEs v BTECs for practical subjects.
At a minimum you can go on to do a relevant BTEC/T-Level at college and apply to uni to do a degree from there.

Schools don't run BTECs so much any more and it is a shame. I think this is partly due to performance measures (do BTECs count in them any more?) Probably also a staffing issue.

My dd did art for gcse and a level with a in both as did nearly everyone in the school.The work was very formulaic. The teacher knew exactly what had to be done to get a and made them fo that.No creativity really

That’s the system though, not the way it’s taught.

To be honest when I did it 25 years ago it was formulaic them. The formula may have changed but you still had to jump through the hoops. A very experienced teacher will know exactly what to do and prevent their students doing anything not relevant. There is a degree of creativity but within carefully constructed boxes.

I know this thread is old but I wanted to thank you for this..what you say is so true. My dd is in year 10. Yesterday she got her predicated grade for art gcse...hers is a 5 with a current working grade of 4. She is very deflated..she has put so much work in already...as far as we knew from the reports we had (which are not detailed) she is working at a much higher level. She is good at art..but this course will suck the joy out of it.

That’s terrible, I’m so sorry. What’s happened to art teaching is criminal. A friend of mine took her son out of art GCSE and enrolled him in life classes and did some work with him (we both met at art school) and he’s now at art school on an animation course. How are young creatives supposed to build their confidence and get any joy and fulfilment out of art in this hideous regime? Not at all racist, foreign students have come here for decades for our great art schools, but I went to the degree show at the Royal College of Art and literally 90% of the students are chinese!! Where are the modern version of the YBAs? This is the legacy of Gove I believe. I would encourage you to write it all down and write to your MP, or to the department of education. I am trying to out something together but honestly don't know where to start! Keep taking your DD to art galleries, if you have friends who are artists get them To do some work with her, show her art books and encourage her to draw and paint for the sheer enjoyment of it! My heart breaks when I think of all the creative kids who’ve had the joy of painting drawing and sculpting crushed out of them. Good luck! X

I taught Art for 26 years. It’s always been like this, it’s the one subject Gove didn’t dick around with too much.

It can be really hard - Music, Drama and Art/DT are really intense earlier on. I think that PE also challenges them more prior to exams season.

But it can be good for them, as it means they've already done at least half of the qualification before the main exams start, so can focus more on those subjects. And despite what the government seems to think, being able to pull it out of the bag on a single morning in May/June is not the definitive marker of ability - it doesn't account for those who can work consistently and for extended periods of time. So it's a different type of ability, but ability nonetheless.

Ds has put art and DT for his options, and after seeing this I'm a little anxious as to how he'll get through it all.
Hopefully all worked out well for op's dd, but sounds like DS will need to pull his socks up, so to speak!

Both art and DT?! They are the worst. Run for the fucking hills while you still can!! Seriously, from the bottom of my heart I would urge you / him to reconsider. It’s not a question of pulling socks up, it’s just very unrealistic to think these options will be ok. My DD did her GCSEs in 2023 and got an 8 in art in the end. Between jan - April 23 was a truly horrific period thanks to the art. It impacted badly on her other subjects. She still did well, but would have done so much better without the infernal art. I’m not exaggerating.

I taught both art and DT for 26 years. The majority did both subjects and managed perfectly fine.

Well she did survive - just! Would never recommend doing both to anyone, especially if your child is a bit of a perfectionist. It did nearly break her. I was so relieved when those deadlines came and went.
She came out with an 8 in art and a 9 in DT. Some of her other subjects did suffer though I think but it’s done. Good luck to anyone in the midst of it all.

Really glad she got a positive outcome and I hope she's doing something she enjoys post-16?

@LlamasUnited thank you for that. I'm going to have a chat with DS today regarding his choices. I'm glad I came across this thread, has really opened my eyes.

@mumofteennotfun good to hear your DD did well, but after reading about your DD experience and other posts, I will be chatting with DS about his choices.

I took Art O'level, although we were actually an experimental 16+ in the couple of years before GCSE, 29ish years ago. My experience was nothing like my daughter's for her art GCSE, I loved it. Although my Art A level was soul destroying

People I have spoken to agree with you on this..it has changed but not for the better. @Beetlebuggy can i ask why A level was so soul destroying?

O'Level/16+ was design based, very wide ranging - drawing, painting, sculpting, screen printing, photography, fabric arts and more, which culminated in an assessed exhibition.
A level was extremely narrow, drawing and painting, a written art history project which was worth a big chunk of marks, a drawing exam and a timed composition. It felt very restrictive. We were told the composition element was difficult to mark, very subjective. We all did very badly and appealed, unsuccessfully.

That would have been the syllabus not the subject. You would have followed a painting and drawing course.

O level would have been a mixed or broad course. This are available at A level. I would have hated painting and drawing. But A level requires a higher level of teacher expertise and this would have been the area your teachers specialised in. Painting and drawing is also the cheapest of all the specifications. The essay is in there for independent study and to put it on the same level as other subjects.

All art is subjective but has pretty clear marking criteria. You just sound badly taught.

We had the same teacher throughout O and A level, she was my favourite teacher and had a big influence on me.
The composition marks were odd though. The school and teacher had a good reputation and usually achieved good grades, it was unexpected, I have worked in design on and off since then (as have others in my year) and I still wonder about that A level.
I guess the 16+ being such an experimental couple of years with so much freedom and no exams made the step up to A level much harder.
I didn't realise A level could be a broad course too. The teacher was design based and the school was well funded, who knows, it was a long time ago, I probably should be over it by now!