Media
Subject Overview
Media Studies is both an academic and practical subject, which is appealing to a variety of learning styles.
We have a hugely enthusiastic and talented team of teaching staff who encourage high behaviour expectations and have a history of excellent results.
Our aim is to encourage student participation in a subject area that we all have some knowledge and experience of by creating a challenging, contemporary
and varied curriculum that is accessible to all needs and abilities. Media Studies at PCS is available as a GCSE option subject for all students from
year 9. As a subject it is highly complementary to Humanities, Art and Drama and uses near identical skills of analysis to those used in English lessons.
“The written analysis is detailed and really helps your literacy, giving you some new insights”
“The production side is fun and you get to be creative in what you produce.”
Teaching and Learning
Students are taught in mixed ability groups based on their band and other option choices.
KS4 Course(s) offered
We follow the WJEC GCSE Media Studies specification.
Year 9
Terms 1 and 2
Image analysis
Advertising mini module
TV Drama investigation
Terms 3 and 4
Horror movie trailer controlled assessment practice pre-production:
Audience research
Analysis of trailer conventions
Analysis of genre
Detailed planning
Initial storyboard ideas
Focus group final feedback
Students work together in small groups to take responsibility for filming, directing and editing a minute of the trailer each
Final evaluation completed at the end of the project
Terms 5 and 6
The web and mobile technologies module
Music mini-module
Film mini-module
Year 10
Terms 1 and 2
Magazine production (First piece of controlled assessment). All written work will focus on at least one of the following: audience, genre, representations,
narrative and organisations:
Conducting audience research
Researching magazine genres
Researching chosen genres
Writing detailed plans for production
Drafting design
Focus group
Drawing up final design
Completing production using Fireworks
Evaluating production
Terms 3 and 4
Sci-fi module to investigate how Blade Runner meets the conventions of sci-fi
Sci-fi textual investigation (second piece of controlled assessment)
Module based on the exam paper. This changes each year: 2016 – Film trailers and posters; 2017 –
Newspapers and radio news; 2018 – TV News and News websites
Terms 5 and 6
TV Drama production (third piece of controlled assessment). Students are set the task of designing a DVD cover for a TV drama OR producing a 3 minute extract
of a TV drama (for a youth or mainstream audience). Students are taught about TV Drama in relation to audience, genre, narrative, representation and
organisation, and then go onto complete the following:
Conducting audience research
Report into the codes and conventions of TV Drama
Analysing sub-genres
Writing detailed plans for production
Drafting DVD design/storyboards
Focus group
Drawing up final design/story boards
Completing production either in groups (extract using Fireworks)
Evaluating production
Year 11
Give an outline of the structure of the KS4 course and relevant qualification and exam board. State what is studied throughout years 9, 10 and 11 in each of the terms 1&2, 3&4, 5&6.
Terms 1 and 2
Taught lessons focusing on key concepts of genre, narrative, representation, audience, organisations and convergence with a focus on comics or print advertising
and the investigation question
Textual investigation 2: Representation
Revision for mock exam
Film Studies module – focus is on preparation for section B of the exam.
Terms 3 and 4
Completion of film studies module
Module on digital media and the contemporary industry – focus is on knowledge and understanding to support answering question 4 in section A and task 5
in section B
Exam focus. Learning all focused around exam topic
Terms 5 and 6
Exam focus. New SOWs and lessons are planned each year to support this
Revision
Assessment
In Media Studies, students are assessed through end of module assessments, written investigations and production work, as well as the final exam at the
end of Year 11.
Example assessments in Year 9:
End of module test on image analysis; written investigation on TV Drama, focusing on genre, representation or narrative; researching, planning and producing
a horror trailer.
Example assessments in Year 10:
Researching, planning and producing a magazine front cover and a TV Drama extract; written investigation into genre conventions in Blade Runner; practice
questions and mock papers in preparation for Year 11 exam.
Example assessments in Year 11:
Written investigation into gender representations in comics; practice questions and mock papers in preparation for end of year.
Coursework is worth 60% of overall mark; exam is worth 40%.
Homework
Homework is set once per week in accordance with the homework timetable. A minimum of one hour per homework is required in order to meet
coursework deadlines. A variety of homework tasks will be set, for example, handing out questionnaires and analysing results, researching a film or
music genre before creating a poster or collage, or continuing with written coursework and production work.
Teaching Staff
Michelle Pollard - English & Media Teacher, Co-Head of Year 11 - michelle.pollard@swale.at
Vikki Langridge - English Teacher, KS3 Coordinator - vikki.langridge@swale.at
