GSCE/A level photography

[bruffin]

DS yr9 is choosing his options in feb/march next year. He would love to do GCSE photography but we don't think it is offered at his school.

He would then like to do photography at A level.

1st question -

How easy is it to do a gcse outside school and how do you go about it?

2.What is the cross over between gcse and a level, would part of the A level just be repeating the gcse?

1. Is A level photography a waste of an A level if he is going down an academic route ie sciences/maths

I know several children who have done A level photography and really enjoyed it. I didn't even know there was a GCSE in it, and it certainly isn't a prerequisite for the A level.

As for it being a waste of time, that depends on your viewpoint really. For a competative science course you would probably need 3 other more mainstream science/maths subjects, for less competative ones you might get away with 2 (A2s). The photography might make him stand out as a more interesting person with a contrasting subject, but ds's headteacher advised him that although universities say they like a contrasting A level subject, in actuality for maths/science courses they do actually seem to prefer more science & maths A levels above that.

For maths courses you are best advised to take further maths (which is also a good option for physical science too) and some places quite like physics as well. If your ds is good at maths then doing 2 maths A levels isn't supposed to be as difficult as doing two less related subjects, so an A2 combination of maths, f. maths, physics & photography might work well. This combo would also be fine for a physics or engineering degree, but not for other sciences clearly!

I think what I'm saying is if your ds is up for 4 A2s then maybe go for it, (especially if he leans towards physical science & maths), but if he will only do 3, then think a bit more carefully.