art and DT as gcse options,,advice needed

[current]

Hello

i have a son who is really interested in ART AND DT as their GCSES choices..I would be grateful in advantages of taking up both..is it doable or it too hard in terms of coursework , and impact on the core subjects..he is interested in engineering

[Guest55]

My DS did two different Technology GCSEs - he went on to do an Engineering degree.

I think Art is more time-consuming than DT [the syllabus is different to when my DS did it] and he needs to be really sure.

There is a lot of design in engineering - my DS's final year project was a design option - but much of the design uses IT such as Solidworks rather than drawing by hand.

What do school say? Will deadlines clash?

[KB]

I would advise against because of the time taken on course work. Whether it can be contained is one thing, whether in reality it will end up taking over is another.

One of my DCs did DT quite recently and there was reasonable scope ( and some necessity) for free hand drawing and you could certainly use creative/ artistic talents if you had them .

[Tinkers]

My DD is doing textiles and so far the workload is much the same as other subjects, the bonus is that she loves it.

[KB]

My DD is doing textiles and so far the workload is much the same as other subjects, the bonus is that she loves it.

Is Miss Tinkers in year 10 or year 11?
Issues can kick in with controlled assessments/ course work deadlines especially if they coincide with each other or the need for a final push in 'academic' subjects. ( Searching for a better word to differentiate - not familiar with intricacies of current Art syllabus but some of the DT courses are certainly demanding on the celebral front!)

Another consideration especially if the number of subject choices is being reduced with the changes being brought in is in keeping sufficient breadth of subjects.

[Guest55]

KB - any good school makes sure that deadlines don't clash - my DS had NO problem doing music plus two Technology options.

It's much more important that children do options they like.

[fairyelephant]

I went to a GCSE options talk at DS's school last night and they advised 2 creative subjects fine, three not advisable - firstly because its a lot to manage and secondly because they need double periods and that makes it difficult to time table three! For DC who are that way inclined, why not as long as they enjoy it they will manage their time accordingly.

[mad?]

DD2 did Art and DT GCSE, whilst also training 18 hours a week at sport and frequently competing at weekends. It is doable. Art can easily take over, but for her it was a release and what she would have wanted to do when she wasn't training anyway. She just made a rule that she would always finish her other homework first. I should stress though that she LOVED art, and has gone on quite happily to do it at A level. My suggestion would be that it needs to be something they are happy about using a lot of their 'spare' time to do, ie: they need to be the kind of DC that would choose to be doing art in their down time anyway, otherwise I imagine it can become a real chore. But yes, she did both, and a lot more, and it was fine.

[DIY Mum]

I agree. As well as enjoying it, it also depends on the child's personality. Dd2 now in y10, is doing both Art and textiles and is enjoying them so much that she's thinking of a career in it. Initially we advised her against it because it is time consuming but she was quite passionate about it.
Needless to say, for her it is doable ...even if it means that on the odd night she's sleeping at 2am and has to fit it all in with her normal school work, volunteering, taekwondo, 2/3 hrs per day sports training and competitions. But because she loves those two subjects in particular, has the stamina, she has no regrets.
We're going through this option of dt & art with dc quintus, too. His teachers want him to do both. He has lesser commitments than his sister, talented at art but takes much longer time doing things.

[current]

Thank you everyone . Sorry for such a late reply . It was very helpful for me to read all your inputs . We decided against taking both and went for DT alone .