should i switch to Art A-level?

I currently do Physics, biology and maths but have been greatly struggling with my mental health because of biology. I want to switch to Art but i'm unsure about the workload and difficulty compared to GCSE (for context I did art at GCSE and got an 8 and currently average about 60% in biology). I am a really anxious person so I'm unsure if switching is the best option for me in case I regret it.
I am also worried about the level of skill needed for Art at A-level as I'm not the best at analysis but can paint pretty well.
I also don't want to do anything biology-related after Sixth form.
Any thoughts?
anything would be appreciated <3

Hi, I'm currently doing A Level Art and Physics ! As someone who studies both of these I can that art does require a lot of work especially if you are aiming for an A* or A. Your skill will come in handy for art and the analysis in your annotations is something you can fix by looking at example annotations from previous years sketchbooks in your school or online to get an idea of what type of things to write. It's a similar process to GCSE Art but at A Level it's more thorough. The workload for art will probably be a similar amount or more than biology depending on how long it takes you create your artwork. But I can say that it's a brilliant course that can allow you to explore the significance of factors like lighting and positioning in your artwork as well as developing your ideas. It also depends on the field you want to go into, if biology is more beneficial maybe try taking more frequent breaks for your mental health and take revision slowly by trying new techniques to boost your grades. If you are struggling in biology too much then consider switching, talk to a career advisor or your head of sixth form about the choice it may give you some clarity ! I don't think you should regret whatever decision you make as it's for yourself and if biology affects your mental health and it's something that you can't control or reduce then you shouldn't feel regret in putting yourself first. It won't be the end of the world if you switch or stay. Hope this helps and gives some clarity to your decision

I currently do Physics, biology and maths but have been greatly struggling with my mental health because of biology. I want to switch to Art but i'm unsure about the workload and difficulty compared to GCSE (for context I did art at GCSE and got an 8 and currently average about 60% in biology). I am a really anxious person so I'm unsure if switching is the best option for me in case I regret it.
I am also worried about the level of skill needed for Art at A-level as I'm not the best at analysis but can paint pretty well.
I also don't want to do anything biology-related after Sixth form.
Any thoughts?
anything would be appreciated <3

For me (did Fine Art GCSE and Art & Design A-Level), art still hasn't been ruined! Just some insights: it's different from GCSE in that you won't be simply copying artists works - at least for my exam board - it requires a bit more creativity and interpretation to create response based off of artists. There is also an essay component (again for my exam board & course), but we're given at least a couple of months to do it and can change it up before we hand it in. Analysis is something I'd definitely be happy to advise you on if you choose to do Art and need it <3 Is there a way you can ask your sixth form to do a trial of art?I didn't think about asking them for a trial thanks for the idea!.

Hello, I also took Art as a GCSE and now take it as one of my A-Levels. To be able to take art as one of your a level you need a lot of passion and dedication for it. If art isn't something that you feel passionate about then I don't suggest taking it, as while the workload can be huge, for me the passion is what dedicates me to continue. but, there is a lot of positives to taking art and it does allow you to expand your mind and it does help develop some skills that can be very beneficial to you in the future. I do suggest doing a trial or something like that as it won't give you a full picture of what it's like to study art but you can get a decent idea of it. Also, if you're worried about maybe not having as much of a creative experience or skill, don't worry about it. When taking art you are also able to look at other people's artworks around you too to help you with new ideas or themes you wanna experiment with. With GCSE you are provided with a lot of help but with a level you are given more independence but still do receive some help. Hope this helped

Hello, I also took Art as a GCSE and now take it as one of my A-Levels. To be able to take art as one of your a level you need a lot of passion and dedication for it. If art isn't something that you feel passionate about then I don't suggest taking it, as while the workload can be huge, for me the passion is what dedicates me to continue. but, there is a lot of positives to taking art and it does allow you to expand your mind and it does help develop some skills that can be very beneficial to you in the future. I do suggest doing a trial or something like that as it won't give you a full picture of what it's like to study art but you can get a decent idea of it. Also, if you're worried about maybe not having as much of a creative experience or skill, don't worry about it. When taking art you are also able to look at other people's artworks around you too to help you with new ideas or themes you wanna experiment with. With GCSE you are provided with a lot of help but with a level you are given more independence but still do receive some help. Hope this helped

Thank you for your help <3
I didn't think about asking for a trial so thanks for the idea!.
Also, what would your top tips be for analysing artwork?

This is gonna sound pretentious... but it's art so bare with me lol

- Always make contextual connections based on features of the art (what the colour palette/emotions/motifs/composition/subject matter say about the artist/the period the piece is from.)
- Go crazy with the art words - line/tone/contour/texture/contrast/composition/foreground/background/depth/tonality/colour/surface/form/etc.
- You can go kind of English Lit with it at A-level, don't be scared to sound far-fetched! E.g: The sparse highlights the artist uses along the folds of the plastic are reminiscent of scattered candles, perhaps alluding to the recurring motif of domestic family life throughout her work. (Complete waffle but I hope you can see what I mean lmao.)
- Deconstruct it! I like to go through a checklist starting with what's the most obvious in the image, to the least (what you might have to infer.) E,g: subject matter > composition > style > material > colour palette > texture > mood.
- Try and find interviews from the artists themselves rather than articles - hearing their own interpretations of what their work was trying to be is helpful!

Again you can kind of make it up lol as long as it sounds arty and has finesse! Best of luck deciding what to do <3

I currently do Physics, biology and maths but have been greatly struggling with my mental health because of biology. I want to switch to Art but i'm unsure about the workload and difficulty compared to GCSE (for context I did art at GCSE and got an 8 and currently average about 60% in biology). I am a really anxious person so I'm unsure if switching is the best option for me in case I regret it.
I am also worried about the level of skill needed for Art at A-level as I'm not the best at analysis but can paint pretty well.
I also dislike biology and don't want to do anything biology-related after Sixth form.
I'm thinking of doing a design engineering degree at uni.
Any thoughts?
anything would be appreciated <3

By passion, I mean that you mainly just have to enjoy creating art, like you don't feel like you're forced to do it. For me, there were a few times where I just did not do anything relating to art for a while which impacted me a lot but I was able to get back into it. A lot of people suffer from the same thing from time to time but you have to be able to actually get back into it. With a level, it is very similar to GCSE which means that you will have to do some artist studies and stuff. It isn't my favorite thing either but what I like to do is switch from one artist to another a lot so I do not base my work on one artist, but each artist will have a different idea or theme behind their work. Once I've done enough I start to do my own thing but I'm still able to link back to other artists' work and say how I learned to do one thing. For example, I used to hate charcoal but then did a very simple artist study to do with it, later on, I realized that I actually liked charcoal but I didn't base my work on charcoal specifically, so I mixed between different mediums. I don't know if that makes sense so I apologize. What I'm basically trying to say is that there is always a loophole so you don't have to focus on one specific artist's work. If you enjoy taking art then I recommend you take it but also make sure to balance the workload with other subjects.

OH MY GOD.
I was not expecting that much LMAO.
Thank you so much though.
Gonna save this for future reference <33

DO IT. i got a 6 in GCSE art and I’m enjoying my a level sooo much more. You get more help with analysis than you did at GCSE too. I’d definitely say go for it because we’re just starting our personal projects and so now would probably be the latest they could accept changes to an art course

Feel free to ask me any questions if you want

No worries! I am legit doing this to ofc help you butt maybe also to procrastinate revising for my History mock (': Lmk what you end up doing! <3

Thank you so much T . T
Just wanted to ask, what would you say was the biggest difference you felt between art GCSE and then at A-Level?

Just the work load really. It’s more work than GCSE but again your taking less subjects so it probably equals out if that makes sense

No worries! I am legit doing this to ofc help you butt maybe also to procrastinate revising for my History mock (': Lmk what you end up doing! <3