MEDIA STUDIES - KS5 COURSE OVERVIEW

HEAD OF DEPARTMENT: MRS S ELLIS

Course Content and Assessment

Are you fascinated by the media ?  Do you watch reality TV shows ?  Do you love watching old movies ?  Do you really like those ‘making of’ documentaries that come with big Hollywood Blockbuster films?  Do you ever wonder why we bother with TV news when we can get it straight from the internet ?

 

If you answered yes to any of those questions then you will enjoy a Media Studies course.  Like it or not, the mass media play an increasingly important role in our lives.  How do they influence us ?  How are we targeted by the media ?  How will new media technologies affect our lives ?

 

Media Studies is a subject that is challenging, enjoyable and stimulating.  It gives students an understanding of the way the mass media shape their world and teaches them to think critically about the media that influence them.

 

In 2005 the Media Studies Department will be offering two A Level courses:

AQA Advanced GCE in Media Studies

Edexcel Advanced GCE in Media : Communication and Production

 

The emphasis of the AQA Media Studies course is on the analysis of media texts and the influence they have on our lives, while the Edexcel course focuses on learning about media texts and the industries that create them though production work.  Both courses involve practical work creating your own films, television programmes, radio programmes, adverts magazines, web sites and many other media products.

 AQA ADVANCED GCE IN MEDIA STUDIES

The aim of this course is to create students who actively question the role the media plays in their lives. By creating their own media texts , students will explore the history of the media, study theory and engage with current debates and issues in the media.

 

AS Award

The students completes 3 units:

1. Reading the Media – externally assessed by exam

2. Textual Topics in Contemporary Media –externally assessed by exam
• Film and broadcast fiction
• Documentary
• Advertising and Marketing
• British Newspapers

 

3. Coursework ( Practical Production) – internally assessed

 

A2 Award

The student completes another 3 units:

1. Texts and Contexts in the Media – externally assessed by exam
• The Production and Manufacture of News
• Representations
• Genre
• Audiences
2. Coursework ( Independent Study) – internally assessed

3. Comparative Critical analysis – externally assessed

 

This qualification is a useful starting point for those students who wish to study Media or Communication at University.  It is also a good choice for students who intend to study Marketing, Leisure and Tourism and Business Studies.