The course is aimed at those who have a serious interest in music and well-developed practical skills. It involves written, theory and aural work, as well as composing and performing. The course includes the study of American Popular Song, and associated artists such as Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole, but is mainly focused on ‘classical’ music, covering composers as diverse as Bach, Berlioz, Beethoven and Boulez.
We have a dedicated suite of practice rooms and recording suite as well as access to Sibelius for composition tasks. Our excellent range of instruments includes Steinway grand piano, harpsichord, fortepiano (a copy of the type played by Mozart, Haydn etc) giving students a real insight into how the development of instruments affected the development of the music written for them and vice versa.
We welcome guest performers and encourage students to take part in enrichment activities such as Jazz ensemble, vocal groups and chamber ensembles. Our students are involved in the annual College production (band/on stage) as well as our May ‘Springfest’ showcase concert. We also attend concerts such as the Chipping Campden Music Festival.
Students studying Music (or Music Technology) will be offered subsidised individual instrumental/vocal tuition by a team of expert visiting teachers as well as theory support.
Music is a highly regarded academic subject which enables students to progress to further study at degree level both in Music itself but also in a wide range of other subjects. Recently, students have gone on to conservatoires such as the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Welsh College of Music and Drama (Cardiff), as well as universities such as Oxford University, Goldsmith’s College (London), Keele, Bradford, Oxford Brookes and more.
Are you a Netflix binge watcher, a vlogger, a gamer, a social networker, or simply a casual consumer of media products? Whatever your relationship with the mass media, you will benefit from the insight, knowledge and skills that a course in Media Studies can offer.
We have professional Adobe software installed on all of our 25 desktop PCs. We use Full HD video cameras and Digital SLR cameras for print production work. There is an enormous amount of media teaching experience in the department; the College has experience of delivering Media Studies courses for over 25 years. College equipment is available for student use outside lessons and classroom activities.
Students are encouraged to enter relevant competitions and produce production work outside the classroom.
Many students who study Media Studies at A Level go on to study a Media Production course at university. For example, TV Production, Multimedia Journalism, Film Production, and Advertising. You may want to combine the subject with Graphics, Business Studies, English or Law to eventually move into vocational areas such as marketing, events management, public relations or journalism.
Recent students have gone on to a range of academic and vocational courses. For example, one student went on to do an apprenticeship in multimedia marketing. This student completed a degree as part of the apprenticeship. Another student has gone on to study Media Performance at Salford University, with a view to performing and directing TV and Film.
This course offers the wonderful opportunity to practically and theoretically explore all aspects of theatre
You will develop acting, directing and design skills as well as building self-assurance and exercising your imagination. You will study play texts, participate in performances, devise new work, write analytical essays and reflective journals. The course offers active, practical exploration of ideas and theories through workshop and performance. You will also develop rigorous written skills that you will use to analyse both scripts, live theatre productions and evaluate your own acting pieces.
The course is assessed via external written examinations (40%) and coursework. The coursework element is assessed through filmed or showcased performance (30%) and written reflective report (30%).
