Regretting my GCSES

I chose art, history, product design, Spanish and triple science at the end of last year. I regret taking product design and REALLY regret taking art. They take up so much more time than the others, and I wish I took geography and RS instead as they were subjects I found far easier. I aim to get 7-9s in all my subjects but because I’m behind on my art coursework I’m afraid I’ll struggle and get a 5 or 6. Product design is not so hard for me but still, I can’t help but feel both are a waste of my time and so I’m not motivated to work on them, and then feel miserable about how I’m not working on them so I regret it even more. It’s like a vicious cycle!! I sit in class and think I would’ve done so much better in another subject- people always say RS and Geography are ‘easier’ GCSEs and they’re far more objective. It’s too late to change now but I just wish I could go back in time and tell my past self to choose something else. On top of that, I know for sure I don’t want to take either of them for A levels- I want to do something related to biology or chemistry. They’re not useful at all for that. Does anyone have a similar experience? How can I motivate myself to work on them?

Hi, if you want to do bio or chem, then triple science is a good way to get through to it.
Look at youtube videos and channels that go through art coursework, because I've stumbled across a few; also think about why you chose product design and art in the first place: was it out of interest? was it because of a hobby related to these subjects? or because of passion?
And if others think that RS and geography are easy, that may/may not be, but you are working harder for a harder subject and, even if you won't use art later in your life, it takes discipline and commitment for subjects like this, which shows your qualities. I understand that coursework does take a bit of time (I have heard this from a few people), but I'm sure you can work around it and get it out the way, and still focus on other subjects - try to prioritise certain important subjects and also make a sort of revision timetable, so you don't feel like you are neglecting or giving too much focus towards one particular subject.
Hope that helped and good luck!

I chose art, history, product design, Spanish and triple science at the end of last year. I regret taking product design and REALLY regret taking art. They take up so much more time than the others, and I wish I took geography and RS instead as they were subjects I found far easier. I aim to get 7-9s in all my subjects but because I’m behind on my art coursework I’m afraid I’ll struggle and get a 5 or 6. Product design is not so hard for me but still, I can’t help but feel both are a waste of my time and so I’m not motivated to work on them, and then feel miserable about how I’m not working on them so I regret it even more. It’s like a vicious cycle!! I sit in class and think I would’ve done so much better in another subject- people always say RS and Geography are ‘easier’ GCSEs and they’re far more objective. I did well in my end of year exams for both subjects at the end of Year 9 but at the time I was undecided about what kind of subjects I’d want to do in the future so I chose whatever I thought I’d enjoy- I almost took Classics instead of triple science which actually I am very thankful for- I would’ve probably been even more upset about that now.
It’s too late to change now but I just wish I could go back in time and tell my past self to choose something else. On top of that, I know for sure I don’t want to take either of them for A levels- I want to do something related to biology or chemistry. They’re not useful at all for that. They’re just not ‘me’ subjects as much as I enjoy drawing and crafts in my free time I just get left feeling burnt out when forced to do them. Does anyone have a similar experience? How can I motivate myself to work on them? Should I talk to someone in my school about this?

Thank you for your reply. I edited my post as you were writing your response but I chose two creatives because I do enjoy just that- being creative. They felt so much easier when I was lower in the school!! But it doesn’t feel nice to have to force creativity- I don’t like to paint or sketch much anyways, and don’t like drawing people, but that seems to be all we do. I will try to watch some videos about my coursework, I am sure if I give myself enough time I can catch up but it does get overwhelming. Maybe I’m overreacting a bit- my art teacher is going through our sketchbooks tomorrow for our summer reports and I haven’t had the heart to tell her how behind I am because I don’t want to disappoint her. I guess I’ll have to tomorrow. It’s just that I’ve heard GCSE grades matter more than your choices for things like university (minus taking stuff like triple science and maths for a science-y subject) , so even if I wouldn’t enjoy taking Geography or RS as much I would feel much happier overall knowing I’d do well. I think I will go to the careers office at my school tomorrow and ask about it. I don’t expect them to let me change my GCSE this late in the year- summer exams are literally in 2 weeks- but if they can give me some further words of wisdom it might help.

Thanks again for your response!

I chose art, history, product design, Spanish and triple science at the end of last year. I regret taking product design and REALLY regret taking art. They take up so much more time than the others, and I wish I took geography and RS instead as they were subjects I found far easier. I aim to get 7-9s in all my subjects but because I’m behind on my art coursework I’m afraid I’ll struggle and get a 5 or 6. Product design is not so hard for me but still, I can’t help but feel both are a waste of my time and so I’m not motivated to work on them, and then feel miserable about how I’m not working on them so I regret it even more. It’s like a vicious cycle!! I sit in class and think I would’ve done so much better in another subject- people always say RS and Geography are ‘easier’ GCSEs and they’re far more objective. I did well in my end of year exams for both subjects at the end of Year 9 but at the time I was undecided about what kind of subjects I’d want to do in the future so I chose whatever I thought I’d enjoy- I almost took Classics instead of triple science which actually I am very thankful for- I would’ve probably been even more upset about that now.
It’s too late to change now but I just wish I could go back in time and tell my past self to choose something else. On top of that, I know for sure I don’t want to take either of them for A levels- I want to do something related to biology or chemistry. They’re not useful at all for that. They’re just not ‘me’ subjects as much as I enjoy drawing and crafts in my free time I just get left feeling burnt out when forced to do them. Does anyone have a similar experience? How can I motivate myself to work on them? Should I talk to someone in my school about this?

hey, i've just come across this thread and i was in a similar position to you - picking art and dt, as well as triple science
(i want to study natsci or physics, so am taking chem/phys at a level alongside dt)

i ended up getting a 9 in both art and dt, but it took so so much time and effort - especially in art. i spent like 3h a day everyday afterschool trying to catch up or just finish and improve my coursework, in like 2/3 week blocks, and then focussed on dt whenever i had spare time... i really love dt so spending an hour or two here or there typing things up for my nea didnt feel like that big of a deal. i'd say stick with it though, for your art coursework - dont listen to those vids showing mountains of coursework needed for a 7-9. in my main coursework project, i filled roughly a third of an a3 sketchbook - with my esa taking like a quarter. quality and analysis of theory is muuuuch preferred than producing an insane amount of art (but the few pieces you do produce should take like 5-10h each :'))

i definitely felt the burnout though, especially taking two coursework subjects that both have big deadlines lined up for roughly the same time (april/may of y11.) i hated working on my art, but i loved testing the limits of how far i could go with the detail and creativity of my work and seeing my end results always made me so happy. i never really cared for dt, until we started the nea which i absolutely loved - workshop is so fun, and i'd spend my lunchtimes just working away at my project because i found it more fun than chatting away with my friends (incredibly nerdy, but don't regret.) as for preparing for the exam, our class didnt't do ANY! my teacher said we'd all be fine doing like 2h on the weekend of our own reading up on theory, and memorising the main stuff - like specialised processes and materials. i'm not sure how your school will do it, but i really think you don't actually need to do much theory prep before the exam, the nea will prepare you a lot for manufacturing processes - and if your teacher is good they'll quiz you on what you're actually doing from time to time (mine would pop quiz me on what sort of saw i was using, or to recite the process i did to vacform a certain part of my product.) because design is such a hands-on learning experience, written theory isn't loads of work, and i ended up getting 90/100 on my exam! a lot of it is related to the resources topic of chemistry, which i found interesting, so you shouldn't worry about your dt grade if you put in a suitable amount of time just working on your project, and if necessary filling in the gaps of your theory knowledge, obviously, the more revision the better (it just isn't as important as the sciences or english for example!)

i don't think the lack of relationship between arty subjects and the sciences is a big deal. art prepares your time management skills, and tests your patience on working for one thing for an extremely long time (which will be useful for labwork and research if you want to go into stem) although you might not find it interesting, it also forces you to produce something of your own from a blank canvas, with no actual structure or support as to what you're supposed to produce - this gives a good balance and break between the rigour and stucture of academic subjects! also, design is the real life application of chemistry and physics, and if you are a generally creative person, being able to see the science you enjoy manifest in a interactive and physical way should be fascinating - at least in my experience

also - i took geography gcse, it was definitely easier than most, i got an 8 with minimal revision. but it was so boring, like so so so dull. i fell asleep in every lesson. it's my least favourite subject. deffo not worth! (some modules on weather and climate were interesting, but not enough of it was enjoyable for me to justify taking it) you're not missing out.

sorry if i've rambled a lot, if you want any direct advice or help with a specific issue - i'm happy to try and help!

hey, i've just come across this thread and i was in a similar position to you - picking art and dt, as well as triple science
(i want to study natsci or physics, so am taking chem/phys at a level alongside dt)

i ended up getting a 9 in both art and dt, but it took so so much time and effort - especially in art. i spent like 3h a day everyday afterschool trying to catch up or just finish and improve my coursework, in like 2/3 week blocks, and then focussed on dt whenever i had spare time... i really love dt so spending an hour or two here or there typing things up for my nea didnt feel like that big of a deal. i'd say stick with it though, for your art coursework - dont listen to those vids showing mountains of coursework needed for a 7-9. in my main coursework project, i filled roughly a third of an a3 sketchbook - with my esa taking like a quarter. quality and analysis of theory is muuuuch preferred than producing an insane amount of art (but the few pieces you do produce should take like 5-10h each :'))

i definitely felt the burnout though, especially taking two coursework subjects that both have big deadlines lined up for roughly the same time (april/may of y11.) i hated working on my art, but i loved testing the limits of how far i could go with the detail and creativity of my work and seeing my end results always made me so happy. i never really cared for dt, until we started the nea which i absolutely loved - workshop is so fun, and i'd spend my lunchtimes just working away at my project because i found it more fun than chatting away with my friends (incredibly nerdy, but don't regret.) as for preparing for the exam, our class didnt't do ANY! my teacher said we'd all be fine doing like 2h on the weekend of our own reading up on theory, and memorising the main stuff - like specialised processes and materials. i'm not sure how your school will do it, but i really think you don't actually need to do much theory prep before the exam, the nea will prepare you a lot for manufacturing processes - and if your teacher is good they'll quiz you on what you're actually doing from time to time (mine would pop quiz me on what sort of saw i was using, or to recite the process i did to vacform a certain part of my product.) because design is such a hands-on learning experience, written theory isn't loads of work, and i ended up getting 90/100 on my exam! a lot of it is related to the resources topic of chemistry, which i found interesting, so you shouldn't worry about your dt grade if you put in a suitable amount of time just working on your project, and if necessary filling in the gaps of your theory knowledge, obviously, the more revision the better (it just isn't as important as the sciences or english for example!)

i don't think the lack of relationship between arty subjects and the sciences is a big deal. art prepares your time management skills, and tests your patience on working for one thing for an extremely long time (which will be useful for labwork and research if you want to go into stem) although you might not find it interesting, it also forces you to produce something of your own from a blank canvas, with no actual structure or support as to what you're supposed to produce - this gives a good balance and break between the rigour and stucture of academic subjects! also, design is the real life application of chemistry and physics, and if you are a generally creative person, being able to see the science you enjoy manifest in a interactive and physical way should be fascinating - at least in my experience

also - i took geography gcse, it was definitely easier than most, i got an 8 with minimal revision. but it was so boring, like so so so dull. i fell asleep in every lesson. it's my least favourite subject. deffo not worth! (some modules on weather and climate were interesting, but not enough of it was enjoyable for me to justify taking it) you're not missing out.

sorry if i've rambled a lot, if you want any direct advice or help with a specific issue - i'm happy to try and help!

Hey I'm about to pick my GCSEs and I think I want to do art but I'm not sure. I am a part of the gifted and talented program and I really enjoy art, however, I easily get stressed under time pressure. I'm really not sure if I should just take something else or follow this path, it really is my passion but I'm not sure if I can do it. Any advice? Thank you x

Hi, I'm not who you quoted but I'll say I also struggle under time pressure. It is definitely there for art, and I had difficulties getting to grips with it to begin with, especially because I'd spend ages trying to perfect every page. I would say the most important way to combat time pressure in art is to be realistic and manage your time well- not every piece will look how you want it to, but that's okay and sometimes you just have to move on. A big part of the GCSE is seeing how you progress and get better throughout your sketchbooks, so they want to see realistic improvement and not a flawless painting every time. It might be hard to get used to, but if you think you'll be able to do that I'd go for it. You clearly have a passion for it! At the very least, my school set summer work for us at the end of year 9 for art and if your school does that too I'd really recommend using it to test the waters and see how much you enjoy it. If you find it seems like too much, you could always switch it for another subject when you come back in Year 10. Best of luck!!