Media & Film Studies

Our aim is to immerse students in the captivating world of media and film, developing an awareness and appreciation of how media language - the invisible ink of modern life - is used to construct meaning and profoundly influence the way we see the world around us. We want students to feel the awe and wonder of storytelling and persuasion on a mass scale.

Understanding the way in which the media and film industry work to manipulate our thoughts and feelings is essential for all citizens in our contemporary, media-driven society. Our desire is for our students to have confidence in their ability to identify and evaluate a wide range of media forms and platforms with a critical eye and to be able to use and apply the skills and knowledge learnt, with confidence, precision and a more considered awareness of the world around them. Discussion of British and Citizenship values, as well as issues relating to diversity and inclusion, are fully embedded into all aspects of teaching and learning in the department, as well as many aspects of the college’s Christian values.

Literacy in Media and Film Studies

Literacy skills are utilised throughout both GCSE and A Level Media and Film Studies courses with a particular focus on supporting students to develop their analytical and evaluative skills. As part of our whole-college focus, students are regularly exposed to a variety of high-level texts and modelling of fluent reading. Alongside the focus on knowledge recall through the use of the Three Things Do Now strategy, students create a key terms glossary to support vocabulary development. In addition to this, oracy skills are developed through structured group and class discussions, using our Time to Talk framework. Finally, students are supported to write in a structured and extended academic style through explicit instruction and scaffolding.

Numeracy in Media and Film Studies

Numeracy skills are utilised in both GCSE and A Level Media and Film Studies courses in order to interpret data, such as target audience research through the use of bar charts and graphs, as well as to calculate percentages and financial information, such as determining how commercially successful a film is. Numeracy skills are taught using the whole-college, cross-curricular numeracy framework.