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Media Studies

If you choose Media Studies as an option in Year 9, you will be following the AQA GCSE syllabus.

Coursework

Year 10
In Year 10 you will be focusing mainly on your coursework. You will need to produce three pieces of coursework, each on a different media topic. Each piece of coursework will be between 700-800 words long and will contain some element of practical production work. The emphasis of the course is on an in-depth study of the media, including:

advertising
film
television
music
radio
newspapers
website design

Year 11
In Year 11 you will also produce a purely practical project with a supporting account of 700-800 words. Whilst working on this project, you are given the freedom to plan and develop your individual projects.

The coursework is worth 50% of your final mark.

Examination

At the end of the course you will have a controlled three-hour test. This will involve four tasks on an aspect of the media, about which you will receive information in advance. The controlled test is worth 50% of the final mark.

This course is designed to enable you to understand and analyse the role of mass media in society. There is a great emphasis put on the key concepts of Representation, Audience, Media Language and Media Institutions.

Media Studies is a demanding course, requiring you to learn about and understand the media in its many forms. If you are inquisitive, creative and enjoy English you will be well suited to this course. The course provides a useful introduction to the study of the media if you are interested in working in the world of TV, film, radio or print. It is also a good pathway if you wish to go on to study the media or film studies at sixth form or university.