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Original poster

Lost GCSE Art folder Support Thread

92 replies

LostArt123 · 01/09/2023 22:08

Is my son the only one going into Yr11 having to redo his art work due to his Art folder going missing in school?

Does anyone have any words of advice, wisdom or solace? I’m feeling so sad for him because not only does he have to redo it but this will also eat into his time revising other subjects. It also means he’s not doing the new art work as school have advised him to focus on the redone work.

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Needmorelego · 01/09/2023 22:23

Personally I think if the school is responsible for it going missing he should be given an automatic Grade 9.
But I doubt that will happen 😕
Hope it goes ok for him in the end @LostArt123 .

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LostArt123 · 01/09/2023 22:54

Thank you @Needmorelego, chance’d be a fine thing.

He lost it a few weeks before it went missing, so I think the teacher assumes he’s lost it again. But he says the fact he lost it scared him so he just kept it at school after that. He left it in the usual place, where everyone else leaves them (unless they take it home) and the next lesson, it wasn’t there.

I’ve been praying it would turn up. Still can’t believe it’s come to this. Bless him.

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BluebellsForest · 01/09/2023 23:07

How utterly miserable for him. Surely the school must have experienced this before?

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LostArt123 · 01/09/2023 23:45

That’s what I said to him. He said that he said that to the teacher but he didn’t remember the response she gave. I would’ve thought in this modern era, the school would have digital copies of all the kids’ work. Certainly, if they’d emailed all parents at the start of the work to do so, I would’ve happily quickly spun through his book taking pics of the pages and uploading to Teams.

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lanthanum · 01/09/2023 23:47

I wonder whether it would be worthwhile for art students to photograph each piece of work when they complete it. Whilst obviously it is better to see the real thing, I would have thought some sort of allowance could be made in circumstances like this, to use the photos rather than recreate every single piece.

Fingers crossed it turns up before long...

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LostArt123 · 02/09/2023 08:11

Thank you @lanthanum, I agree and I shall certainly be photographing all his work in his new sketchbook once he gets it next week.

My step daughter starts year 10 Art next week so at least my partner and I can do this first from the outset.

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Aaarghthepancakes · 02/09/2023 08:42

I just wanted to acknowledge how awful this is. DC currently doing Art A level and I remember well the amount of work in the GCSE files. Unless you do Art it's impossible to appreciate the time and effort involved. Is there any chance at all of it turning up? I'd be creating merry hell at school over it.

HollyGolightly4 · 02/09/2023 08:46

You can't submit photos of artwork as part of the portfolio 😞 (photography component different)

Good luck to him and as for trying to find it, I suggest he goes in every single room methodically, to the caretakers and the office and double checks with any senior staff too.

fedupallthisrubbish · 02/09/2023 10:07

Can you not go into school and search for it - after school closes and no children in. Sometimes the threat of a parent going in items turn up.

Or a reward of £20 to any child who finds the folder - no questions asked

Original poster
LostArt123 · 02/09/2023 10:28

Thank you @HollyGolightly4 and @fedupallthisrubbish. Thanks for acknowledging how much work he has lost, I feel so sad for him. There was work in there that I was hoping to have back once it had been assessed, so I could put it in the wall. Lost. And that’s of course just the sentimental side, that’s not the main thing, which is obviously the fact he has to redo the assessed parts and will get behind doing the new work (teacher recommends not doing the new work, just focus on the redo).

I haven’t played merry hell with school as you suggest I do, because I don’t think it’ll help. They are being really helpful in advising him what to do and are doing what they can to help him locate it in the classroom and wider school. I’m not sure what else they can do.

Yes, I’m going in next week to look for it with him after school so fingers crossed we find it. And I thought about the reward too but I think that’ll be too exposing for him.

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Original poster
LostArt123 · 02/09/2023 10:29

And thanks @HollyGolightly4 also for letting me know that photos can’t be submitted as coursework- this at least reasssures me as to why schools are not doing this as a matter of course.

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Maddy70 · 02/09/2023 10:33

I would speak to the exams officer. To see if they can apply for a compensation. Insist it was lost within the school , explain the impact on the other subjects as well as art

HollyGolightly4 · 02/09/2023 10:34

Aw no problem @LostArt123 I really hope it works out 🤞🤞

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LostArt123 · 02/09/2023 10:34

Thank you @Maddy70 - who is the exams officer, is it someone in school or working for the exam board? Do you mean he should stop redoing the work and I ask for this dispensation instead?

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BramblyHedge · 02/09/2023 10:37

Is it down one of the art benches/ shelves? DS was selected for external review at the end of his GCSE and his folder seemed to be lost. We looked everywhere and he insisted it was at school. We were so worried. His art teacher ended up moving all the furniture in the art room and it had fallen down behind and under a shelf.

Maddy70 · 02/09/2023 10:38

Yes there is an exams officer within the school who might be able to apply to award him marks for some of the work if its already been marked. But speak first. They have very strict rules it may not be possible but worth asking

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LostArt123 · 02/09/2023 10:39

Me too @HollyGolightly4 🤞🤞🤞 One of my youngest’s fave book is a Hello Kitty book called The Magazine Mix Up, in which the friends all make a magazine together to take into school because the teacher has said she will photocopy it and give one each to the kids in the class. They all work really hard on it but then some lemonade gets spilled all over it and it is irretrievably damaged.

They are all upset but then resolve to do it again. And in the process of the redo they think of other ideas to make it even better, so in the end they are so pleased they did it again as it’s even better in the end.

I keep holding on to this idea when my head keeps giving me doom-filled narratives (he’s going to do badly at everything now, he’s never going to make up the work to the same standard, it’s going to affect his mental health etc etc).

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Original poster
LostArt123 · 02/09/2023 10:42

@BramblyHedge oh wow 🤩 what a great success story, you and DS must’ve been SO relieved. Ok, thanks for the tip-off. I’m going in after school on Friday so I’ll make sure I check EVERYWHERE.

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Iop · 02/09/2023 10:44

Oh no OP, your poor DS! I did art at GCSE and ALevel and the amount of time that goes into it is like all the other subjects combined - as I'm sure you already know 😓
I think the idea of offering a no questions asked reward to anyone who finds it is a good one (though I think it needs to be more than £20!) It could be that another student picked it up, either innocently or with ill intent, and is now too scared to give it back.
I really hope it turns up 🤞🏼

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LostArt123 · 02/09/2023 10:44

Righto, thanks @Maddy70 . Yes I believe some things have been marked. One of the things he redid yesterday, he said he got a merit for last year. So I was confused as to why he had redone it, and nervous that what he had redone may not now be worth whatever a ‘merit’ means. I’m sure once term starts again, he’ll be supported by the art teacher, who will be able to advise him on this sort of thing.

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Staticgirl · 02/09/2023 10:45

That Hello Kitty story is very relevant. I have found that if I lose a ton of artwork or I scrap something that is not working and start again that my second go at it is a lot better. It's partly because I have already done a lot of hard mental work planning, observing and deciding what marks to make. So your son may find that his work improves.

This is not to take away from the absolute heart-sickness and cold sweats that break out when the loss is discovered though. I really hope that it is found as it will involve a lot of work putting it all back together.

I would also hope that the teachers will be on their guard in case another child suddenly seems to have some extra work. I imagine this would be fairly easy to spot as everyone's art is different.

jallopeno · 02/09/2023 10:46

Has someone pinched it and pretended it's theirs?

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LostArt123 · 02/09/2023 10:46

@Iop - yes, SO much work. Once he’d started it, he regretted choosing Art because of the sheer volume of work. He’s not massively into art but enjoyed it enough to choose it, but once he started he was like ‘oh god 😞’.

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fedupallthisrubbish · 02/09/2023 10:47

It does sound a bit fishy if he’s “lost” it twice - is there a horrible boy hiding it? Top of lockers / behind them I’d be checking ….. (unless your boy has adhd and lots of things get naturally lost - I’ve got one child like that)

I hope he finds it - so sad for him. I’d search the school high and low before making him do anymore repeating work ….

fingers crossed it will turn up - I really hope so!

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LostArt123 · 02/09/2023 10:54

All you suggesting malicious intent may be onto something. He was the brunt of a massive spin against him in the last few months at school and the school were very involved in supporting his mental health in dealing with it all. His dad feels it could’ve been done deliberately too (we’re not together but we’re very amicable so we chat easily about the kids’ ins and outs). I can’t think too much about that to be honest - I feel it is what it is. If it’s been done maliciously, that person will have to come to their own peace with that during their life, not my son, who has done nothing wrong.

However it’s gone missing, the fact still remains that it needs to be rectified so I find it easier to focus on solutions than to dwell on possible reasons for the situation.

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