Media Studies - A Level (OCR)

A Level Media Studies offers you the opportunity to study a range of media theories and apply your knowledge of these to the set products. The course will develop your skills as a media producer through creating a range of moving image and print products. You will analyse a range of different media products, including Minecraft, Stranger Things, Deutschland 83 and The Guardian newspaper, to find hidden meanings and to learn about the industries that create them and audiences that consume them. You will then put what you have learned into practice through designing and making a range of media products for yourselves, including a music video, a website and a newspaper front cover. The course also examines who makes the media, who consumes the media and what messages and values are found within it.

You will study the whole range of media forms which include:

• video games
• radio
• television
• film
• news
• music videos
• magazines
• advertising
• social and participatory media

You will need:

• Grade 5 or above, and at least one grade 6 or above, in GCSE English Language plus one other written subject, such as History, Geography, Humanities, English Literature, Business, Media Studies, Religious Studies, Drama and Film Studies
• Three further GCSEs at grade 4 or above

If you wish to study 4 A Levels, you will need 7 GCSEs at grade 7 or above, including two at grade 8.

All applicants must have an interview to confirm that A Levels are suitable for them

The course is assessed as three units, two of which are exams taken at the end of the second year of study:

Component 1: Media Messages (35%)

Component 2: Evolving Media (35%)

The third element is a Non-Exam Assessment (coursework) which provides the remaining 30% of the programme.

School Leavers

If you will be aged 16, 17 or 18 on 31 August in the year you begin your course, and have been resident in the UK/EU/EEA for the past 3 years, it will be free. Some courses will have other costs associated, such as for materials and trips. Many of our students are eligible for financial support when studying at college – please click here for more information.

A Levels are widely regarded as the standard entry qualification for top universities in the UK, and the rest of the world. Many of our students go onto study for a degree at the university of their choice, with some choosing to progress into apprenticeships or other employment.