Media Arts
Curriculum intent
To have uncompromising aspirations for every individual and for our school to be an exceptional and inspirational community of lifelong learners.
To ensure all students have the knowledge to critically engage with the conversation of humankind.
Purpose
Our courses: GCSE Media Studies, L1/2 Cambridge National in Digital Media, A Level Media Studies, L3 Cambridge Technical in Digital Media and A Level Film Studies.
The Media Arts Department has 3 aims:
- To equip students with a critical toolkit for navigating and understanding the impact of mass forms of communication on our world, both past and present.
- To make students aware of the potential that the media has for enriching our lives.
- To develop skills so that students can produce their own media and develop their own vision and creativity.
We believe that the skills we teach, particularly the analytical skills, are vital to understanding the world in which young people will live their lives and that society would be improved if everyone had these skills.
Key Concepts the underpin the Media Curriculum
- Why Media matters to my life
- Developing precise ways of seeing and hearing – learning key terminology
- Theoretical Frameworks – Applying Key Concepts to interrogate media products (GRAINI, FRIA)
- Contextual studies – Political, Historical, Social, Economic
- Focus on Print, Internet, Gaming and Radio Media Platforms – some subjects have set texts, others are more fluid.
- Understanding other academic viewpoints – range of theories introduced per platform.
- Focus on Moving Image platforms – developing analytical skills.
- Academic style of analytical writing skills
- Ability to interrogate a wide range of media and film texts that are ‘unseen’ - i.e., not specific set texts
- Developing a range of practical skills to become your own producer of media.
Course specific – CamNat to CamTech - OCR
- Why Media matters to my life
- Developing precise ways of seeing and hearing – learning key terminology
- Theoretical Frameworks – Applying Key Concepts to interrogate media products (GRAINI, FRIA)
- Contextual studies – Political, Historical, Social, Economic
- Developing a range of practical skills
- Understanding how a range of media companies work
- Simulating media institutions
- Researching, planning and producing a range of media products
A Level Film Studies
- Why study film
- Developing understanding of the micro aspects of film language; Sound, Cinematography, Lighting, Editing, Mise en Scene and Performance
- History of film to the Golden Age – exam set text - Casablanca
- Learning how to put any film into its Political, Social, Historical and Economic context
- Year 12 focuses on New Hollywood movement, American Indie and modern Crossover films. Each has a set text and learning how to conduct micro and macro analysis
- Developing a range of practical skills, including scriptwriting and storyboarding
- Year 13 covers European and World cinema, Documentary, Experimental and Silent films from a range of countries
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Academic end points Media – GCSE – A Level Media Studies (please note that it is not a requirement to have taken a Media course at KS4 to be able to progress to one of our KS5 courses) |
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Year 10 |
By the end of Year 10, students will be aware of the different media platforms and how they overlap and converge. They will have the vocabulary and terminology to describe a range of products, largely from the Print and Internet platforms using Media Language. They will have developed an ability to interrogate set texts regarding issues of Representation, Audience and Institution. They will also have knowledge of the context around each text. They will have also studied texts from the Gaming Industries and Radio, focusing on different types of media institutions and different target audiences and responses. They will have been introduced to various theoretical perspectives from narrative structuralists, stereotypes and archetypes, feminist perspectives, audience effects and globalisation debates. They will be developing an academic form of written and developing their own analytical voice. They will have started to develop some relevant skills in media production using professional software such as Photoshop, In Design and editing software. |
| Year 11 | By the end of Year 11, students will have expanded their ability to analyse media products using Media Language, Key Concepts and Theories to include a range of moving image texts. These presently include TV Crime Dramas and a range of music videos. Their knowledge of relevant contextual studies and theoretical perspectives will have grown. Their ability to compare and evaluate products and question the technical methods used to construct meaning for a target audience will have started to show a more growing understanding and some independent thinking. Year 11 students will have chosen from 4 briefs covering a range of the media platforms taught and will have researched, planned and produced their own media product/s. Their coursework will show knowledge and understanding of a range of codes and conventions of the product and how to use technical codes to engage the target audience. |
| Year 12 |
By the end of Year 12, students will be able to use a wide range of media terminology to identify key signifiers from a range of media products covering a range of different platforms. They will have covered units such as Advertising and Marketing, Film Marketing, Gaming and Radio. They will have a growing range of theories attached to various cultural perspectives, post colonialism, gender and ethnicity studies and institutional topics such as globalisation, capitalism, culture industries. They will be able to show a wide knowledge and understanding of various contextual issues and audience perspectives in their written analysis. They will increasingly be able to back up their own critical autonomy with evidence. Year 12s will be developing key practical skills throughout the year in preparation for the range of coursework options in Year 13. |
| Year 13 | By the end of Year 13, students will be able to use a wide range of media terminology to describe media products with detailed precision and accuracy. They will then be able to challenge products through the viewpoints of our key concepts, particularly issues of Representation, Institution and Audience. They will be able to make a range of sophisticated points, backed up by evidence and reference to a range of theoretical viewpoints, including audience Reception and Effect Theories, along with a wide range of theories for each key concept specified in the syllabus. They will also be very aware of contextual issues around all the products studied. They will be able to use these techniques with growing confidence with other media products not specifically studied in the syllabus. They will be able to put present their ideas and analysis into an academic form of writing. They will show their own critical autonomy and independent thinking. Students will also have a range of skills to be able to produce their own media products using industry-standard equipment and software. Their coursework should be approaching professional standards and show a deep understand of the codes and conventions of different. |
Click here to visualise the GCSE Media Studies learner journey
Click here to visualise the A Level Media Studies learner journey
| Academic end points
A Level Film Studies |
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Year 12 |
By the end of Year 12, students will be able to use a wide range of filmic terminology to describe film products with growing confidence, focusing particularly on Sound, Cinematography, Editing, Mise en Scene and Performance. They will be able to identify a range of technical codes used by film makers and be able to evaluate their success in terms of creating meaning for audiences. They will be developing their ability to be able to put present their ideas and analysis into an academic form of writing. They will have covered a variety of film forms and have studied the relevant contextual information around each. These include the American and British film industries. They will also be able to incorporate a range of Critical Approaches in their analysis and refer to theories such as Auteurism. Students should also have a range of skills to be able to produce their own film products using industry-standard equipment and software in Year 13. They will have knowledge of the syntax of professional film scripts and written their own creative script. |
| Year 13 | By the end of Year 13, students will be able to use a wide range of filmic terminology to describe film products with detailed precision and accuracy, focusing particularly on Sound, Cinematography, Editing, Mise en Scene and Performance. They will be able to identify a range of technical codes used by film makers and be able to evaluate their success in terms of creating meaning for audiences. They will be able to put present their ideas and analysis into an academic form of writing. They will show their own critical autonomy and independent thinking. They will have covered a variety of film forms and have studied the relevant contextual information around each. These include the American and British film industries, European and World cinema, Silent French and Russian early cinema, Documentaries and Experimental films. They will also be able to incorporate a range of Critical Approaches in their analysis and refer to theories such as Auteurism. Students will also have a range of skills to be able to produce their own film products using industry-standard equipment and software. Their coursework should be approaching professional standards and show a deep understand of the codes and conventions of the short film format. They will have knowledge of the syntax of professional film scripts and digital storyboards. |
Click here to visualise the A level Film Studies learner journey
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Academic end points Cambridge National Creative iMedia |
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| Year 10 | By the end of Year 10, students will have developed practical skills in manual Digital Photography via the completion of an official coursework unit, worth 25% of their final qualification. Students must work on projects unaided and are taught to organise their files and documents in a coherent manner. The coursework unit develops a pragmatic approach to investigating, planning, shooting and evaluating an exam brief. Students are taught key terminology that should be applied when responding to each section within the coursework unit. Coursework Units and the exam unit are taught in parallel to ensure intrinsic links are made by the student. The aim is for them to apply their practical skills knowledge to the exam unit that tests their understanding of pre-production documents. Students are taught how to use industry-standard software and expensive photographic equipment where responsibility on its safe use is emphasised. When taking photographs and filming, students must learn be respectful of their environment and subjects. They should be independent, creative and aware of the digital media sector. |
| Year 11 |
Students should be familiar with the demands of each coursework unit as the layout, number of pre-production documents and individual tasks required remains similar throughout. Learners should have developed essential knowledge, transferable skills and tools with the aims of enhancing their employability when they leave education, contributing to their personal development and future economic well-being. |
Click here to visualise the Cambridge National Creative iMedia learner journey
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Academic end points Cambridge Technical Digital Media |
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| Year 12 | The key purpose of the Cambridge Technical L3 Digital Media course is to develop professional and social skills in a variety of media sectors. Students will gain an understanding of how different businesses and organisations in the media sector work. When it comes to progression or employment, students will understand the variety of opportunities available to them, and the roles and responsibilities of media businesses and organisations within the sector. This will make sure students develop clear ideas about where they might like to take their career and what progression routes they’d like to follow.
In year 12, students will specifically cover three units: |
| Year 13 | In Year 13 students will develop their knowledge of the media industry in the following three units Unit 2 (exam)- students will understand the pre-production process that the creative media industry follows when creating a product, including research in the planning stage of a media production and about the various acts of legislation that need to be considered. They will learn about the constraints that need to be considered when planning a new media production, including timescales and resources. Unit 20 In completing this unit, students will understand advertising campaigns and how audio-visual, print based or audio advertising media are used within them. They’ll plan an advertising campaign for a service, selecting the appropriate media components to produce it. They’ll produce original media components for incorporating into a campaign, considering the market and its target audience, as well as legal and ethical constraints, to ensure that all components comply with the required codes and conventions of the genre. Unit 23 This unit will be a showcase of the work a student has created, supported by a personal media profile, by learning how to combine their creative work and personal profile to create a digital professional identity suitable for sharing with prospective employers, higher education institutions and for other career progression pathways. |
What will you see in Media Arts lessons?
The aim of all our lessons, for five different subjects over 4 academic years, is summed up in our department vision below:
- To equip students with a critical toolkit for navigating and understanding the impact of mass forms of communication on our world, both past and present.
- To make students aware of the potential that the media has for enriching our lives.
- To develop skills so that students can produce their own media and develop their own vision and creativity.
What will you see in Media Arts books?
Some of our subjects are more portfolio based than others, but generally in our exercise books you will see a progress tracker on the inside cover showing a student's learning journey. There will be detailed notetaking, along with personal annotation and analysis of a wide variety of media products chosen to showcase the wide diversity of media and film forms and challenge students to engage and reflect on messages and ideologies.
What formative assessment will you see in our five courses?
Assessment tasks for each unit are recorded both in books and on Satchel One, so that they can be seen at home. These can vary from smaller research tasks right the way up to exam practice essays.
These can also include highly useful revision materials created by students, such as fact files on the wide range of academic theorists we study.
On the practical side of the courses, coursework units are divided into separate tasks that are assessed with feedback for improvements.
What is the department currently reading and why?
The Media Arts department has its own extensive library of resources, which are available to students to loan. The school library also has a very good Media section. We also subscribe to an excellent magazine written for students studying our subjects called the Media Magazine, which includes an online archive.
One unique aspect of our subjects is that Media is not static but constantly changing, so being engaged in the issues and debates over the changing face of media is vital to doing well.
Click on the links below to access the relevant Curriculum map:
Cambridge National Creative iMedia and Cambridge Technical Digital Media
