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Media Studies

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In our media-saturated world, every moment is influenced or documented by TV and popular social networks. A Level Media Studies fosters a critical understanding of how the media not only acts as a form of entertainment, but also as a means of worldwide communication and representation.

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You will analyse a wide range of texts including TV, radio, online platforms, newspapers, and video games within theoretical frameworks, to understand how they are constructed to appeal and convey particular meanings. Explore how cultural, technological, and institutional contexts shape media and impact audiences.

The course includes a 30% practical production unit, creating cross-media products like music videos or promotional materials to a set brief. This allows you to showcase your creative ability and media understanding, and demonstrate your ability to establish a relationship between your audience and chosen media form. In previous years, briefs have included music videos, promotional material and opening sequences to popular teenage dramas.

What do I need?

Five GCSEs at grade 9-4 including English.

What next?

Studying media enables progression on to general and specialised media courses, along with other creative courses such as film, marketing and PR. The transferable skills gained are also helpful for other academic courses such as journalism, English language or literature, business and communication studies.

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Did you know?

58% of the world's population uses social media, spending an average of two and a half hours per day on it - and women spend 30% more time on social media than men.