BBC Education
BBC Education
Media Studies
Curriculum Intent
Curriculum Sequence 2021-22
To accommodate the impact on learning of Covid 19 in 2020 and 2021, the Media curriculum is operating to an amended sequence of learning in order to close gaps caused by the partial school closures and lessons that took place in non-specialist teaching spaces. Follow the link below for more details:
Our aim is for all students in Media to have the skills to enable them to turn intuitive knowledge into a ritualised strategy for learning. Our aim is for our learners to engage critically with both contemporary media and its historical context, focusing on issues of representation, industry, genre and audience. We want students to have the technical skills to construct texts that are creative and relevant to both media consumers and the wider economy. Above all we want students to view media as a tool to understand cultural diversity, technical convergence and aesthetic debate in a complex global society.
Media Studies is one of the most popular subjects at The Burgate School and Sixth Form Centre with exam results that are consistently excellent. In part, the success can be attributed to excellent facilities and teaching but also the way in which Media Studies embraces visual, kinaesthetic and auditory forms of learning. Students can opt to take a GCSE course at Key Stage 4 as well as A-level Media Studies in the Sixth Form. In addition to this, Media is part of the National Curriculum in English at Key Stage 3 and students in Years 7,8 and 9 have the opportunity to participate in Lights, Camera, Action during Activities Week in which students make a science fiction film in a day.
What is Media Studies?
Media is often defined in relation to the study of discrete media forms (television, film, advertising, radio, magazines etc) and this is reflected in the diversity of units on offer at the Burgate School and Sixth Form centre. However, students are also encouraged to reflect upon the nature and purpose of the key concepts of audience, institution, representation and genre. In addition to this we strive to position the study of media texts in the context of cultural history, exploring the social dimensions of technological change.
Upper School: GCSE
Our GCSE course is taught in purpose-built rooms and compromises both coursework and exam units. In addition to studying radio, television, and advertising, students have the opportunity to make their own short films utilizing digital video cameras and a purpose-built editing suite.
Sixth Form: A-level
A-level lessons take place in purpose-built rooms and offer a range of practical and taught units. Students study advertising, video games, films, music promotion, newspaper, and radio before producing their own practical production. NEA briefs are released by the exam board each year and ask students to produce a cross-media production based on film, television, magazine, or music promotion.
Media Studies Curriculum Overview
