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Media Studies

Media Studies looks at the crucial role that the media has in the world today. Students study how media organisations provide information, pleasure and entertainment as well as how the media supports and provides opportunities for business and commerce.

Having studied media through non-fiction in English during Key Stage 3, the two years of the GCSE course allow students to study media texts from a variety of organisations and sources ranging from traditional media platforms with explorations into newspapers, radio and film to more modern multimedia platforms with texts such as games and webpages. Students will also produce their own media pieces, to demonstrate their knowledge of the techniques and approaches that they have learnt.

Media Studies builds on and supports several subjects that students will have studied at Key Stage 3. It has close links with English, where students are also encouraged to analyse and evaluate a wide range of media texts, but also shares skills and approach with subjects including Art, Music, Drama, Design Technology and ICT. Media Studies is a popular course taken by students and when the GCSE course is taken alongside GCSE English courses, statistics suggest that grades are improved across both subjects due to the supportive and complementary nature of text analysis.

The Media Studies course looks at the different roles and methods of media organisations in the world today. Students explore four distinct study areas: Media Texts, media representations, Media Organisations and Media Audiences. Exploring contextual factors through texts in their own time. Assessment is divided between two exams (covering a range of texts from newspapers and magazines to television crime drama and the music industry) and a Controlled Assessment coursework project. 

The beginning of year 10 provides a comprehensive introduction to the skills, study areas and types of text studied through the GCSE. This introduction builds a basic knowledge and context of the media, through film marketing and print advertisements. Topics covered will include the modern blockbuster, print media from magazines and newspapers to advertising and online mediums such as webpages. There is also the opportunity for close analysis of music industry artists, their websites and marketing. Assessments will be a mixture of analysis based extended writing and practical based individual projects.

Students who enjoy and are successful at media in GCSE are invited to choose the A level course. The A level course builds upon the GCSE specification but with more sophistication of texts. Students will enhance their knowledge and skills learnt in KS4 with a similar style of exam and coursework. Students will explore the four areas; media language, representation, media industry and audience, all studied with contextual relevance. 

Our students are also encouraged to engage with film festivals and schools with many going on to choose a career in the media industry.

For more information please contact Simon Gaiser sgaiser@stokepark.coventry.sch.uk