Media Studies
Subject philosophy/ purpose
Studying Media Studies at Westwood College is about understanding the world around us in relation to the media processes and how the world around us is represented. As the media plays a central role in contemporary society it shapes our perceptions of the world and provides us with ways to communicate and engage with those around us.
It is the aim of the curriculum in Media Studies to enable students to become media literate in an increasingly digital age and be in a strong position for the future to make sense of the media and how meaning is communicated.
The curriculum challenges students to analyse a range of different media texts, becoming active audiences, as opposed to passive ones.
As part of Key Stage 3, students are introduced to different media texts through their English curriculum, exploring: representation of character in film/moving image; technical codes /camera angles in storyboards; visual codes and conventions in print-based advertising.
At Key Stage 4 students can build on these key skills and are given opportunities to apply them to set texts and unfamiliar contexts.
Curriculum Vision/intents
- Foster a love the Media; students are encouraged to engage in conversation about a variety of media forms and explore them in greater depth.
- Develop confidence in creative application of media concepts by learning the skills required to reproduce existing or create wholly original, media texts.
- To nurture a sense of curiosity regarding industry processes. Appreciating how different media texts have been structured in a way to create a variety of messages and effects.
- That students form good relationships with staff and students, forming a professional working relationship that reflects that of a mature working environment. Learning the interpersonal skills often required in all manner of industries.
- Lead to academic success: our curriculum design must lead to significant progress for students of all abilities and inspire students to continue studying Media beyond Key Stage 5.
Curriculum Implementation
Years 9, 10 and 11
The Media Studies department has structured the 2-year course that helps support students in becoming confident analytical and creative skills. The varied approach to lessons, balancing practical activities with written analysis, aims to ensure that all students are able to access the content in a way that helps enage them and nurture their curiosity, helping them reach their potential.
The first term of Year 10 starts with an introduction to key media concepts, before studying the ‘TV Crime Drama’ and ‘Film, Advertising and Videogame Industry’ units. Throughout each of these units, students learn about industry processes, target audiences, as well as the ability to deconstruct media texts. The transition from Year 10 into Year 11 allows students to demonstrate their knowledge, understanding and creative skillset by working on an independent creative portfolio. In previous years this has required students to apply their understanding of the principles of photography and image design in order to produce an original magazine front cover and double page article.
Year 11 continues with studying the ‘Newspaper’ and ‘Music and Radio’ units. These units allow students to explore regulation, political influence, and audience demographics in further detail.
Years 12 and 13
At Key Stage 5 we offer OCR A level Media Studies, which allows students who have previously studied Media Studies with us to continue building on familiar concepts, whilst making itself accessible for people who are new to the subject.
More information, including specifications and course materials, can be found here:
https://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/as-and-a-level/media-studies-h009-h409-from-2017/
Links to overview of case study content and sample resources: