The Course

You will be studying the AQA Media Studies GCSE course over two years leading to one GCSE grade.

The course is 60% coursework and 40% examination.

The coursework is made up of three units including:

1. Advertising Production: here you will analyse two different advertising campaigns and then create an original advertising campaign including making an advert.
2. Film Promotion: here you will learn all about the way films are made and promoted. You will analyse one promotional campaign and go on to create an original movie idea and the promotional material for it including a poster.

3. Music Promotion: here you will learn all about the music industry from the way artist images are constructed, to the way audiences are targeted and the impact that digital technologies are having on the industry. This is the main coursework unit and you will have the opporunity to create a music video or a print advertising campaign for a new artist.

The examination will be sat in June 2014 and will be on Video Games - don't worry girls it's not all about Call of Duty!

Welcome to Media Studies!

Why Choose Media Studies?

We live in a media-saturated world. From video clips on your phone, to TV ads to blockbuster movies, to posters at the bus stop, to the music in your earbuds, you are surrounded by media messages for most of your waking hours.

How do you make sense of them all?

How do you know what they are trying to communicate — both on an obvious and a less obvious level?

How do you know how much you have been influenced — consciously or subconsciously — by these media messages?

Does the media reflect your reality, or control the way you view it?

It's been said that media literacy is as important to living in the 21st century as regular literacy was to the 20th century. Media Studies helps you develop an important set of skills that will help you navigate the rest of your education and then, your working life. Media Studies will help you increase your knowledge and understanding of:
Communication
Design
Planning
Presentation
Evaluation
Creativity
Critical Thinking
Research
Story-telling
Technology
Politics
Business
Culture
Citizenship