Photography or Media Studies GCSE?

[RunLyraRun]

DS is in yr 9, choosing his GCSE options in the next couple of weeks. He's ADHD so genuinely struggles to pay attention to anything that doesn't interest him. He also hates school, sadly. For those two reasons his dad and I have encouraged him to choose subjects he's really keen on as the main priority.

He doesn't have a clear idea about what he wants to do in future, other than that it's unlikely to be office-based work. He loves being outdoors, he's great with people of all ages, he's sporty and creative. Landscape architecture is the career that has appealed most in recent discussions.

He's fairly bright (should be capable of 7s pretty much across the board, according to school's predictions) but he struggles to get his ideas across in essay form (if only oral exams were an option!)

He'll be taking 9 GCSEs: maths/eng/eng/dual science, then he's chosen geography, design tech and PE (he's a multi sport player which I understand will be to his advantage). That leaves one choice, which I think he's narrowed down to photography or media studies.

On the basis of my limited knowledge, the pros and cons would be:

• Photography pros: no exam (in the traditional sense) and the whole thing done and dusted before exams start (very appealing). Cons: limited applicability, a lot of self-directed work to create the portfolio.
• Media studies pros: interesting and relevant curriculum, good for developing critical thinking, broader applicability. Cons: more writing, two exams (including long form?), still a significant piece of course work to complete (but could be something really fun).

Does anyone have experience of both, and how they would fit with his other subjects? When I say "fit" I'm not concerned about his future career options as much as how he would cope with the workload for either, given that they both involve a significant course work component, and he's already wedded to design tech which does too.

Photography comes under the heading of art GCSE I think. Almost every YP I know has ended up disliking art GCSE bc it is such a thief of time in terms of prepping the portfolio etc. I presume photog would be the same? The YP who haven't hated it have loved it so much they have gone on to take it for A level and beyond. But if that’s unlikely it may not be the best choice if your DS may struggle to focus (it’s an earlier strong focus than other GCSEs as well if that makes sense).

The NEA for media studies would see some work done early but without quite as much pressure. My view is also that the skills involved will be more useful going forward (as I say, unless photog might be a future career or connected to it in some way).

Caveat: I have no direct experience of either GCSE. @piggywaspushed teaches media tho so may be able to help there.

My DD is doing photography GCSE, to be honest it looks pretty boring to me and I don’t think she’s found it as interesting as she thought she would.

There’s a lot of writing, documenting processes etc and for some reason school say they can only complete it in class time (whereas Art allows her to bring it home to work on).

I think (like Art & other creative subjects) there’s also a lot of kids doing it because they thought it would be easy, so the cohort isn’t the best/most hard working.

No experience of media studies I’m afraid.

Thanks for the tag clary. I don't teach media, but film studies which is very different. I do, however, know a bit about media studies.

Your description of your DS OP doesn't sound ideal, to be honest. (for media that is!) It is examined through the written word. Even if they do practical coursework it is only 30% (I think) and included essay writing. The exams are entirely written and are mainly textual analysis.

I'd suggest finding out the exam board and looking up the exams online to see what they are like.

I also think that whilst both subjects you mention complement DT in a way they add to the burden too as you have coursework on top of coursework (plus PE coursework/practicals). Photography is a branch of the art GCSE and it has massive long exams and quite burdensome coursework. The media coursework will be guided to a brief so the 'could be quite fun' might depend on what your DS thinks of the brief he is given.

Does the school offer business studies? The exams in that at GCSE level are much less like essays and the specification is less 'airy fairy' than media which can be quite theoretical and conceptual.

If anything building/architecture-related is a preference in future, then Photography could be more useful as he could incorporate this into his work more easily. He could build an architecture photography portfolio which would help evidence interest when applying for courses later.

Sorry @Piggywaspushed to conflate media and film haha! I know they are not the same.

I agree @RunLyraRun that a final choice with no NEA might be a good idea as both DT and PE include that element and it can be a lot of work. Does he have the option of MFL? There are four exams but two are short, with minimal writing (single-word or tick-box answers mainly) and the "essays" in the written paper are a max of about 160 words; plus there is an oral exam. Maybe he hates it tho in which case. ignore,

I agree with finding out the exam boards and seeing more about what each involve (although schoolcshould be providing this info).
Photography was a possible here, but dc was put off by the amount of digital manipulation work - they prefer the process of composing a photograph.

Thanks for thoughts and comments.

It’s tricky as I can see the coursework being too much in photography, and the written content being too much in media studies. I will look more closely at the spec for both.

Business studies and MFL are available, but he has not enjoyed the latter at all, and I’m not sure he could be persuaded to take an interest in the former…

Ah OK ignore my MFL suggestion then.

Tbh it’s not the end of the world (for the most part) if you have a GCSE grade that's lower than others – overall GCSE grades are really only looked at by Oxford and Cambridge, when applying for very competitive courses like med or vet med or sometimes when applying to a very competitive sixth form.

Outside that, even unis like UCL are only looking for a 6 in maths and English; and for most unis a grade 4 in those is enough.

So if he ends up taking Media Studies because he enjoys it (a good reason), finds it challenging and gets a lower grade, that may be a better outcome than taking something he dislikes (and maybe getting a lower grade in that as well).

My DD did photography last year- she said it was very easy, and she did all the work at school- with a few after school sessions and a few holiday sessions. It was nowhere near the work that is needed for art. She also did food tech- which was much more intense with loads of NEA work plus an exam and she got grade 7s in both.

Thanks @clary
I guess it’s not the end of the world either way, really, given that Oxbridge/vet/med are not in play.

Easy sounds good, @newmum1976!! It’s funny how people’s perspectives on the workload seem quite variable…

My DS (Yr11) is currently downstairs working on his photography GCSE website while also trying to revise for another round of mocks. He has ASD. Two of his peers have an ADHD diagnosis and they've taken photography as well. One has dropped it, the other is really struggling and coming close to dropping it.

As it's been said, both art and photography gcses really are 'time sponges'. There is no 'finish point' with them. My DS's teacher is constantly telling them to 'reflect and improve' on everything they do. Unlike say his maths homework where he's given a past paper to do, there is literally no 'end' with an arts-based subject.

My DS has really struggled with the lack of clear instructions in photography. Students are expected to manage their time themselves which is hugely challenging for some students, especially those with processing issues. You have to be really organised and have a clear vision of what you're doing. Again, as others have said, the actual taking of photographs isn't the main focus of the course at GCSE (weirdly). You have to be able to write about photographers, analyse their work, come up with your own response to their work, document your process then 'reflect and improve' on it.

Having said all that, my DS has learnt an awful lot from the course and he says he's glad he chose it as an option. It makes a nice change from exam-based subjects. He's looking at coming out with a 7/8 - but he has put in a good 6 hours a week of work consistently over two years. The key thing is that you have to be working consistently over the two years as the grade is cumulative.

Great post @newmum1976 and good for the OP's DS to hear.

Well done to your DS @Toomanyminifigs - sounds as tho he has really learned something from the course about time-management and prioritising tasks – crucial skills for life really so well worth it in that sense.

Apols @RunLyraRun I didn't mean to be snidely saying your DS would not be aiming for Oxford or medicine! I do hope it didn’t come across like that. My DC who went to uni both had quite a range of GCSE grades (6/B to 9) and there was no issue with sixth form entrance or uni offers.

Thank you @clary Yes. I would say photography gcse has helped him develop really important skills such as time management, planning, IT skills, independence etc. These will definitely help him whatever his post-16 pathway is.
As a slight aside, I do think it's a shame that coursework was removed from (most) GCSEs. Having such high stakes exams for DC at 15/16 seems very hard, especially if you struggle with exams. My DS isn't doing the 'full raft' of GCSEs and he's still sitting 19 papers this summer.

No apology needed, @clary, I didn’t take it as snidey at all - it’s simply a fact of life that 99% of school leavers will not be headed for Oxbridge or medicine!

@ToomanyminifigsI love your username, except surely never too many?!

Your post is really clear and that workload sounds pretty terrifying. DS really struggles with organisational skills/executive function stuff.

On the basis of this thread I think I would rather he just did 8 subjects!

I was going to ask if there was any possibility your DS could take one less GCSE. It's so hard isn't it? We don't want to limit our DC but at the same time, we don't want to overwhelm them/set them up to fail.

I think there are conversations with students/parents if DC are struggling with non-core subjects at the end of Yr10. I know that several students have left photography in my DS's class. Possibly because it wasn't the subject they expected, possibly because they need to concentrate on core subjects to pass, or because their lack of work meant they weren't going to pass.

It may be that your DS could give photography/media studies a go and see? Have you spoken to the subject leads of both courses? My DS's teachers were quite good when I asked them honestly about what they thought about him taking certain subjects.

Yes I agree – is dropping one option a possibility? It would need to be the case that the school offered an alt option (skills-based work in the SEN hub or extra maths and English support) but many do nowadays esp as, as @Toomanyminifigs notes, the exam-based workload is so heavy and certs does not suit all.

My DS1 has issues with learning and focus and he did 8 GCSEs, spending the lessons for the dropped option in the school SEN dept with a small group working on things like HW, core subject support, CVs, college applications. It was definitely beneficial for him.

I might prefer him to consolidate his efforts across fewer subjects, but I would have to push really, really hard for that. There is a cohort of SEND students who do 8 GCSEs, then catch up in the Hub in their “spare” periods, but school would not be on board with DS doing that - from their perspective he’s doing well.

We had a mooch round the respective stalls in the “choices marketplace”, but I haven’t spoken to either of the subject leads because both are new subjects, so they weren’t available on parents’ evening. But it’s a good idea, I think I need to do that this week. Thanks again for thoughts.

Oh - also I should say, at my DS's school, photography is always oversubscribed. We were told the class sizes have to be capped at around 25 I think due to dark room access/working with chemicals etc. So there is a chance that if your DS puts it on his list, he may not be allocated it anyway. Just as a warning. So you may need a 'backup' subject.

The student with ADHD who dropped photography that I know is also very able (predicted grades 7s to 9s). His DM had to really push to get the school to agree to let him drop it. She knew by carrying on with it, it would have a huge impact on his other subjects as he was spiralling under the pressure of the continuous assessment element of it.
You sound like a great advocate for your DS so I'm sure you will be keeping an eye out for that danger anyway.

Thank you @Toomanyminifigs, that’s really kind. I try my best, as we all do. I will certainly be keeping a close eye, whatever he ends up doing. It’s good to bear in mind that dropping one further down the line is always a possibility.

Just a note to say we met a landscape architecture student at the Sheffield uni open day and she said it was an amazing course. So impressed with the city too. In case you're thinking of unis.

Sheffield is a high ranking uni for landscape architecture but still only needs ABB at A level. They mention technical drawing so I’d look at what’s required for these courses. Sheffield are not great on subject advice so maybe delve into that a bit more deeply. Media and photography and no art might be counter productive.

My DD enjoyed A level art and GCSE art. Not all dc hate it! She enjoyed photography too at A level. Some people are just good at it and, thankfully, had great teaching and interested dc to work with. Yes, it requires writing. As does landscape architecture!

If you mean landscape design and planting schemes, that’s a different course and not landscape architecture which is similar in structure to an architecture course.