There has never been a more exciting time to study Media and Film. In this digital age, anyone can be a content producer and the jobs of tomorrow haven’t even been created yet. In the last year, the courses we offer have been modernised and updated with 21st Century careers in mind.

Studying on one of our Media courses gives students the skills they need to become the next director, producer, editor or designer, as well as an understanding of what working in these creative industries means.

Study on our Film pathway allows those with a real love of film to take this passion to the next level. Developing their understanding and appreciation of film in ways they might never have considered possible.

In Year 9, students split the year between two courses of study. These are a practical, vocational pathway called Creative iMedia and an analytical, academic pathway called GCSE Film Studies. At the end of Year 9, students choose one of these courses to study for Years 10 and 11.

The Creative iMedia course in Y10/Y11 offers students the chance to learn the skills of practical production in a range of creative industries, specifically: Graphics, Video Production and Games Design. This is primarily a production course, with only a little writing.

The GCSE Film Studies course offers students the chance to analyse films in-depth, learning about things like character-progression and narrative decisions. This course is assessed primarily through writing, though there are opportunities for production also.

Progress on either pathway prepares students for study on one of our post-16 pathways. We currently offer a Year 12 vocational course in Digital Games Design and a Year 12 academic course in Film Studies. While these courses build strongly on the courses taught in lower school (Creative iMedia, Games Design and GCSE Film Studies, A Level Film Studies), it is possible to study either post-16 course having studied either lower school course.

There has never been a more exciting time to study Media and Film.

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Key stage 4

Year 9 – Students study skills and content from both the OCR Creative iMedia and the WJEC GCSE Film Studies courses; at the end of the year they choose one of those courses to study for Y10/Y11.

  • In Y9 on the three Creative iMedia units, students will learn the fundamentals of digital graphics, digital video editing and digital games design, working to briefs in the same way that they will in Y10/Y11.
  • In Y9 on the three GCSE Film units, students will learn about cinematography, editing and sound as they study a range of critically acclaimed films. In each unit, students will learn about the social and cultural contexts surrounding the film.

Year 9 Creative iMedia - Curriculum Map
Year 9 Film Studies - Curriculum Map

Year 10 – Students on the Creative iMedia pathway study pre-production skills and two out of the three listed units (the third one being taught in Y11):

  • Digital Graphics Production;
  • Digital Video Production;
  • Digital Games Design.

Year 10 and Year 11 Creative iMedia Curriculum Map
Year 10 and Year 11 Film Studies Curriculum Map

Key stage 5

Year 12/13 – Eduqas A Level Film Studies – Students learn about the micro-features of film, including cinematography, editing, sound, lighting, performance and mise-en-scene, and study a range of macro-features, including narrative, Marxism, feminism, post-modernism, auteur, spectatorship and documentary. There are a range of films taught on this course, including early film from 1896 onwards right up to films of the last decade.

A Level Film Studies Curriculum Map
BTEC Film and TV Production

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Enrichment

Over the 2-3 year course of study, there are many opportunities and trips that run for students on Media/Film courses. They include:

  • Film clubs and Computer Games Design Clubs.
  • Cinema visits to see/study films on the big screen;
  • A visit to the SAE Institute to learn about careers in digital design;
  • A Sixth Form residential to the Berlin Film Festival

Career and Future Pathways

There is a wonderful array of potential careers waiting for you if you're passionate about creative and digital media, some of which are below and even more on the Screen Skills website. Our vocational courses (Creative iMedia; BTEC Games Design) lead on to a range of Media Production Pathways, including college/university courses in:

  • Games Design
  • 3D Animation
  • Film Production
  • Film and Television Production
  • Visual Effects Production

Our Academic Pathways (GCSE and A Level Film Studies) lead onto university courses in:

  • Film and Television Production
  • Film Studies
  • Film Theory