Statement of Intent

Our Vision is to help our students to become active and critical audiences of the mass media. We want students to take responsibility for their media consumption habits and help them to understand the effects of their choices. We also see the creative potential of the media and want to encourage Media students to become active producers of media texts.

St Gregory’s offer two potential pathways that can be followed: an A Level in Film Studies and a BTEC Level 3 in Creative Digital Media Production. Anyone that completes either qualification will have the opportunity to study further at University and other Higher Education establishments. There are a wide range of media based courses ranging from more academic courses looking at Media Theory and the potential effects of the mass media on society; to more production-based courses where students will develop creative skills to a professional standard. The broad scope of the curriculum of both these subjects offer pupils the ability to narrow down their focus and concentrate their further study on a diverse range of disciplines within the industry for example Digital Media, Film Studies, TV Production, Screenwriting, etc.

Alternatively, these courses will provide a good grounding for going on into work within the Creative Industries. In particular, the Creative Digital Media Production qualification will give students the necessary skills for working as part of a Media Agency where research, pre-production, production and post-production skills will be needed.

Having studied Film or Media at St Gregory’s, student’s will develop a passion for creating, developing and critiquing the ever-evolving world of media, allowing them to be prepared for the future.

Purpose

Purpose - A Level Film Studies

Film is one of the most significant cultural innovations of the 20th century and a major art form. Those who study it characteristically bring with them a high degree of enthusiasm and excitement for what is a powerful and culturally significant medium, inspiring a range of responses from the emotional to the reflective. Film Studies consequently makes an important contribution to the curriculum, offering the opportunity to investigate film as an aesthetic medium and how film communicates ideas of representation.

The KS5 curriculum in Film Studies aims to enable learners to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• a diverse range of film, including documentary, film from the silent era, experimental film, European and short film
• the significance of film and film practice in national, global and historical contexts
• film and its key contexts (including social, cultural, political, historical and technological contexts)
• how films generate meanings and responses
• film as an aesthetic medium
• the different ways in which spectators respond to film

It also aims to enable learners to:

• apply critical approaches to film and
• apply knowledge and understanding of film through either filmmaking or screenwriting

The curriculum is additionally designed to reflect the diversity of film culture through both filmmakers and the films they make. Our curriculum consequently provides a framework for the systematic study of a broad range of film as well as providing opportunities for creative work, an integral part of film study. Most of all, it offers the opportunity to explore a range of important ideas and emotions, reflect on art and technology and connect theory and creative practice in ways which are designed to provide an absorbing and motivating educational experience.

Purpose - BTEC Level 3 in Creative Digital Content Production

Provides a technical introduction to digital content production including digital magazine production, image manipulation techniques and coding for web-based media. Media Studies students at St Gregory’s School will be able to analyse and appreciate the craft involved in communicating media messages in a global arena. They will be able to decode implicit and explicit messages, recognising bias and demonstrate understanding concerning how representations are constructed for a specific purpose and audience. They will also be encouraged to appreciate the aesthetic artistry involved in the production of media texts so that that they can create their own, emulating specific styles and applying, or challenging conventions of a genre, evident in their own decision-making. They will be encouraged to explore media theory, research industrial context and work with media professionals to gain experience and insight concerning a media career.

The KS5 curriculum in Media aims to enable learners to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• a range of digital media platforms, including website and online magazines
• the significance of writing copy for a specific media and target audience
• the legal and ethical issues surrounding the use of digital image manipulation techniques in media texts
• how media language generates meaning and response
• the codes and conventions of genre across different medias

It also aims to enable learners to:

• develop skills to use a variety of creative media computer software

• develop a critical approach to texts, decoding media language
• appreciate the artistry in the construction of media texts and develop their own design and production skills
• research and examine industrial context to fully understand the influence on production of media texts

Cultural Capital

Media Studies offers students considerable cultural capital, equipping young people with the skills and analytical knowledge that will prove of value in future life success. These include the practical production techniques in digital image editing and print and digital publishing.

The units span a range of products selected to expose the students to the diverse social, cultural and ethical issues that result from living in a 24/7 media world. Representations of contemporary and historical ideologies inform students' understanding, engagement and empathy of for all sectors of society.