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GCSE Art?

So this is more of a general question, I am studying art and I want to know what to expect. There's no coursework so how is the final exam?

It's a 3- day exam and that's all I know, how TIRING is thatt??
Any experiences of anyone who's done it?

Thanks x

Reply 1

meandegreen

Original post by stirra

WOW no coursework and a 3 day exam that's crazy! My final exam was only 10 hours but I have learnt that most of the time people rush and finish way too early, so you would definitely need a thorough plan of what every stage of the exam is going to be - especially for an art exam as long as that! You need to be good with timekeeping and also practise A LOT beforehand of what you're going to be doing, not necessarily the whole final piece but bits of it that you are unfamiliar and may struggle with without testing it out a couple times. Good luck!

Reply 2

Marc9726

I think the big thing with the exam is you need a clear sense of direction. You want to use your time as well as possible so you need to know what you're doing and how you're doing it.

Reply 3

stirra

Original post by meandegreen

Thankfully I will be told beforehand a couple months (I think) about the final piece task so I can plan it. No one i know has ever studied art because talent doesn't run in the family. I chose art because I like it and then I realised I was actually good after gradings :biggrin:

How did yours go!

Reply 4

meandegreen

Original post by stirra

How did yours go!

I just found out my results yesterday - an A*!

My exam board splits it into Art and Design 1 which is a year 10 portfolio, mock exam sketchbook and mock piece. Then there is Art and Design 2 which is the real exam sketchbook and final piece — which I achieved full marks on!

Couldn't be more chuffed and I hope you get the grade you want also!

Reply 5

stirra

Original post by meandegreen

Woah so amazing :thumbsup:

your artwork must be so cool. I would love to see some
Thanks a lot :smile:

Hope I do too :frown:

Reply 6

username2462393

Do a practice piece before you do the actual exam in order to work out timings, so you're more relaxed in the real thing and have time at the end for any adjustments :smile:

Reply 7

Malishaxx

gcse art is really fun but you do have to spend a lot of time throughout the year to fill up your sketchbook as it's reaaaaly important to use in your art exam, and its also added to your final grade. good luck :biggrin:

Reply 8

T0ucan

Hey I did art this year and did a ten hour exam. Make sure you do all your preparatory work a good few weeks beforehand and coming up to the exam make a few mockups of different components of your piece, gradually improving them until they are perfect. I also did a full mockup of the entire thing which I could then refine. I found this really helpful and my final piece was a lot better than my mockup. I made a wire bird for mine and will link some pictures below. I got full marks in GCSE art. Good luck!

Reply 9

JourneyToSuccess

Are you doing AQA? Because I swear there is coursework worth 60% of your GCSE.

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/art-and-design/gcse/art-and-design-8201-8206/specification-at-a-glance

Reply 10

meandegreen

Original post by T0ucan

...

Oh wow you definitely deserved the full marks that's amazing! What exam board were you with? I was with Edexcel and my final piece was decaying fruit on canvas with plaster and then painted, I was so please that I got A*!! I wish I could carry it on to a-levels but about 99% of the time I cursed art because it took up so much of my time, so I knew it wouldn't be a good idea to pick it. :frown:

(edited 7 years ago)

Reply 11

T0ucan

[QUOTE=meandegreen;67240408]Oh wow you definitely deserved the full marks that's amazing! What exam board were you with? I was with Edexcel and my final piece was decaying fruit on canvas with plaster and then painted, I was so please that I got A*!! I wish I could carry it on to a-levels but about 99% of the time I cursed art because it took up so much of my time, so I knew it wouldn't be a good idea to pick it. :frown:

Thank you so much and congratulations on your A*! I was with CCEA and am VERY happy that I'm not taking it to A level lol! Like you I just thought it required wayyy too much time and effort. I was worried that by spending so much time on art at GCSE my other grades would suffer and luckily they didn't, but if I took it next year I think it would interfere with my performance in other subjects way too much! It's a shame really that you and me have been put off by the sheer volume of work because I'm sure we'd do well :frown:

Reply 12

stirra

Original post by JourneyToSuccess

Are you doing AQA? Because I swear there is coursework worth 60% of your GCSE.

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/art-and-design/gcse/art-and-design-8201-8206/specification-at-a-glance

Not sure which speak board but I'm taking the new GCSE's so no coursework for me

Reply 13

stirra

Original post by T0ucan

OMG definitely deserved full marks
Thanks for the advice, could make good use of it from a pro like you :smile:

Reply 14

username2324383

I did GCSE art when there was coursework. It involved building up a portfolio/sketchbook. For the final exam most people just did a bigger version of something they'd already done in their portfolio or something similar.

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