Media Studies

The Media Studies curriculum is personalised to La Retraite students. 

This is because each centre can choose which area of the media industry to focus on the most in Unit 01 (mandatory). We chose ‘film’ for our students because the students all completed a questionnaire before they signed up for the course and they all have a keen interest in film compared with print publishing or radio. Considering this, we also choose Unit 22 (scriptwriting for short horror films) and Unit 03 (create a short horror film) because these units give our students the ability to create their original ideas and then to produce them with a live product as a result. We also choose Units 21 and 20 which relate to the advertising industry because our students are confident and passionate about their ideas and have the ability to pitch their ideas. Oracy skills are embedded from Year 7 at La Retraite so when they reach Year 13 and perform a pitch to their peers and a ‘client’ the students are well informed in how to do this successfully. 

The sequencing and transition from Year 12 to Year 13 has been carefully planned because at the end of Year 12 students study Unit 03 which gives them the opportunity to gain practical production skills in response to a client brief. In Year 13 the students then take the exam Unit 02 (Pre-production and planning) which tests their production skills knowledge in response to a client brief. Students feel well prepared for this exam having just completed a corresponding practical unit at the end of the previous academic year. 

The Media Studies curriculum is broad because students study over the two years: the six main areas of media (external exam), how to write an industry screenplay (and create a short one), how to create a short horror film (produced in groups), how to plan for a production (external exam), how to pitch a media product idea (assessed presentation) and how to produce an advertisement. 

The Media Studies curriculum is flexible because in Units 22, 03, 21, and 20, students can choose the source material for their short horror film scripts (22), they can choose their groups and ideas to produce a short horror film (03), they can choose which company to pitch an advertisement idea for (21) and what product to advertise (20). 

The Media Studies curriculum is balanced because there are two exams (one in each year of study) and four units of coursework (two in each year of study). The first year of study is focused on the skills required for the film industry and the second year of study is focused on the skills required for the advertisement industry. These industries were chosen as they are the major players of the media industry and the soft skills developed in both can be transferred to other media industries such as TV, gaming, and print & publishing. 

All student work is created online and stored on a cloud service on Google Docs. Student work is displayed on a personal blog. This means that when each student graduates from the course, they have a live portfolio that they can present to potential employers or higher education. The media industry abides by the mantra “show don’t tell” and the curriculum provides the students the absolute best opportunity to adhere to this mantra. 

The vision that we have for our students in Media based on the curriculum is that they will leave the course having accumulated a range of skills in pre, post, and production in both the film and advertisement industries. We want the students to be able to successfully use these skills in the next steps of their education. 

Implementation

There are wider skills and capabilities developed across the Media Studies curriculum: students learn exam skills, extended writing for essay questions, meeting deadlines for formative and summative assessments, English language and literacy skills in scriptwriting, teamwork and planning skills when filming a production, presentation, and oracy skills when pitching an idea and debate skills when discussing media ethics. 

Media students are assessed in a variety of ways. Please see the Assessment Schedule for a detailed insight into the assessment implementation. 

The Media Studies curriculum is reviewed every term. It is constantly updated and improved for the following year based on success criteria of student comprehension and meeting the specification and exam questions. 

The Subject Leader for Media Studies is also a qualified examiner for the subject. This benefits the department and curriculum because they are then able to have a deeper insight into planning the curriculum to meet the requirements of students gaining top band exam grades. 

Impact

To ensure evaluations are robust, the Media Studies curriculum is discussed at least once a term with the relevant subject line manager. A success criterion is discussed: progress in students’ assessments and exam results parallel to an increase in subject-specific knowledge. 

This informs future planning/research because the Subject Leader will implement new strategies into the curriculum e.g. creating “100% distinction” answers to all assessments so students can see what getting the top mark looks like and providing students with every past paper question after the relevant linked lesson so by the end of the unit they would have increased their exam practice skills. 

Beyond examination results, the impact is demonstrated by the students each having a personal live portfolio of their work on a blog which they can present to any future employer or further education institute. The students would have gained explicit digital/employability skills in their units of study such as thorough knowledge of the six main areas of media and in particular: the film industry, how to write an industry-standard film script (independence), work as part of a team to plan, produce and edit a short film (leadership and teamwork), how to plan a production in response to a client brief, how to successfully pitch an idea to a media client and receive critical feedback (resilience and analysis) and how to produce a commercial advertisement in response to a client brief. 

The Media Studies department has a successful history regarding extra-curricular opportunities. Some of the highlights have been: cinema trips to the BFI IMAX (largest screen in Europe), visits from the BBFC, exclusive daytrips to Google/YouTube’s offices and students reaching the Vlogstar Challenge finals. These opportunities enrich the students’ learning experience and helps to positively improve their confidence and aspirations. 

The Media Studies curriculum has had an effective impact on the higher destination future of the students. The number of students studying Media Studies at higher education has increased and we have now formed a partnership with the MetFilm School as one of their partner schools where students can attend insight days, workshops, and Q+As with industry professionals. 

The Media Studies department has a quality curriculum because examination results are rising each year and the visiting moderator has always agreed to the assessed coursework grades where the students achieve the highest grade possible: Distinction. We have many students who graduate the course with a Distinction* which means the curriculum is set up to enable students to get the best grade.