Course content More than ever now the ability to understand how and why we communicate through the myriad of digital media platforms is vitally important. Young people to need to question whose messages they are consuming? What impact do they have? What meaning will they take from these messages and what is the motivation behind the message? This modern and innovative course reflects the growing importance of Media Studies as a subject, allowing you to engage with contemporary media, mixing theoretical and practical work, and offering areas of study and experiences that are extremely relevant to current and future employers in the creative industries and beyond. The new reformed ‘A’ level specification is structured around the theoretical framework of media language, industries, audiences and representations. The course recognises the fundamental relationship between theoretical understanding and practical work, providing you with exciting opportunities to develop media production skills in different forms, apply your knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework to media forms and products, and become a creative maker of meaning yourself. You will be offered a choice of briefs and forms within which to work, enabling you to explore and pursue your own media interests. It aims to provide all students taking Media Studies the opportunity to work in a range of media formats, individually and in groups. You will be expected to make full use of the department’s online resources as well as presenting much of your work through Google Classroom. We also aim to provide you with the opportunity of exhibiting all of your hard work by showcasing the very best work in an end of year awards and celebration. This is an opportunity that will bring to life the work you have done in the classroom. The New linear A level media studies course will run provide students with the opportunity to gain an AS grade and provide a solid foundation for progress on to the full A level. Media Studies offers students the opportunity to combine a theoretical understanding of the mass media in society and methods for analysing media texts (e.g. television programmes, films, advertising and the press) with the development of practical skills for media production. Alongside this, you are given regular opportunities to gain practical and creative experience in media production, working with media professionals whenever possible to enable you to develop your skills. Other skills developed The skills of knowledge, interpretation and evaluation are all examined. The course will develop the capacity for students to think and write in a highly critical fashion with a clear understanding of the need for referencing theoretical ideas and commentary. Throughout the course students will have an opportunity to draw on a range of other academic disciplines including psychology, politics, sociology, philosophy and ethics and business studies. Personal creative skills will develop through devising and making a range of media products and through reading around critical perspectives and debates that surround the mediation of our world. Skills of interpretation and debate on topical issues that influence the context of media production are developed. Furthermore, students will become critical consumers of all media texts and the various media institutions that produce them. Your literacy skills will develop as you become more visually literate and critically aware of how messages and meanings are constructed and communicated. Career value Many media students go on to do a range of degrees, often at Russell Group universities. Most recently we have seen students taking up places at Exeter, Liverpool, Leeds, Bristol, Southampton and Manchester as well as having a number of students take up places on a range of course at the industry led Ravensbourne University London. Media studies, and its related topics, are of most value in developing a range of abilities that will enable you to understand the most dynamic sectors of the modern economy, offer skills in research, presentation, communication and team-working, plus the ability to think critically and creatively and in so doing, become one of the innovators of the future. We have many previous students who now work professionally in the media, ranging from film and television production through to event management and video games design. As a department we have strong links with a range of professional media organisations and professionals who regularly contribute to the teaching and learning, as well as providing career opportunities such as work experience and training including one of the world’s biggest digital marketing and advertising agencies, Dentsu Aegis, for whom we are a partnership school. We also regularly submit many of our students short films for national awards such as The Moving Image Awards and EMC Media magazine Production Awards, often resulting in our students being nominated for and winning awards. So for media studies, there really is no better place than Graveney. A student’s view “I have gained so much useful knowledge and skill from doing media studies. The lessons are always interesting, with lots of opportunity for debate and reflection on just how much the media and mediation dominates the world we live in. Studying media at A level has stretched me beyond my imagination and provided me with a series of skills that I use in my employment. I also used the skills developed in my media lessons across my other subjects and this has proved most valuable. I have found media studies to be the most enjoyable and outside of the classroom the most useful. I know I will use and need these skills for the rest of my life, whatever career path I choose to take.” “Media studies provided me with the confidence, knowledge and skills that I needed to transform myself from somebody who had no intention of going to university to a passionate and committed student who is now going to take up a degree in media communications at Leeds University. I am so grateful for everything the subject has provided me.”