EDUQAS GCSE Media Studies Handbook
Updated: Sep 28
The GCSE Media Studies Spiral Curriculum
Our GCSE Media Studies curriculum is designed as a spiral, revisiting key concepts, media forms and analytical skills throughout Years 9, 10 and 11. Rather than learning topics as isolated units, students continually return to the four core concepts of Media Language, Representation, Industry and Audience, applying them in increasingly complex contexts.
The curriculum begins by building strong foundations, introducing essential media terminology, theories and analytical approaches. As students progress, they develop greater confidence in applying these ideas to a diverse range of media products, from music videos and film to newspapers, magazines, advertising, radio and television.
By Year 11, students are revisiting familiar concepts at a much deeper level, making connections across different industries, audiences and representations while preparing for their examinations and NEA.
The spiral approach ensures that knowledge is not simply remembered—it is revisited, strengthened, connected and applied, developing the critical thinking, creativity and analytical confidence needed for success in GCSE Media Studies.
Year 9 - Introduction to Media - Autumn 2026 (SH)
This unit introduces the four key areas of Media Studies: Media Language, Representation, Industry and Audience. We begin by exploring the Barbenheimer phenomenon, the unusual cultural moment created when Barbie and Oppenheimer were released on the same day. By comparing these very different films, you will investigate how media products create meaning, represent people and ideas, target audiences and operate within the media industry. You will then explore Steve Neale’s Genre Theory, learning how genres use repetition and difference to meet audience expectations while remaining fresh and interesting. This unit gives you the essential tools for analysing media.
Introduction to Media Language, Representation, Industry, and Audience –
Exploration into Barbenheimer and Steve Neale’s Genre Theory
Year 9 - Pop Music Promotion - Autumn 2026 (SM)
Pop music promotion uses media platforms to build an artist’s image, attract audiences and sell music. Revise the history of music videos, from early promotional clips to MTV and modern online platforms. Study Duran Duran, Justin Bieber and Lizzo, comparing how they use music videos, websites, social media, magazines and television to promote themselves. Remember Top of the Pops, Smash Hits Magazine and the development of MTV as important promotional media. Apply Stuart Hall’s Representation Theory to explore how artists are represented through gender, ethnicity, celebrity and identity. Consider how media producers construct meanings for different target audiences.
Pop Music Promotion: History of Music Video, Web Design, Lizzo, Justin Bieber, Duran Duran,– examining promotional strategies across different platforms.
Explorations: New Pop and MTV, Top of the Pops Smash Hits Magazine Stuart Hall - Representation Theory – understanding how media constructs meaning and identity.
Year 9 - James Bond: Film & Representation - Spring 2027 (SH)
In this unit, you will explore the James Bond franchise through two films from very different periods: The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) and No Time To Die (2021). By comparing these films and their marketing, you will investigate how media language, representation, industry and audience shape the spy genre. You will consider how ideas about masculinity, femininity, ethnicity, power and British identity have changed over time. You will apply Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze and Paul Gilroy’s Postcolonialism to develop more critical interpretations of representation. The unit concludes with focused James Bond revision and exam practice, helping you turn knowledge into strong analytical responses.
James Bond Franchise: Man With The Golden Gun and No Time To Die
Explorations: Laura Mulvey and the Male Gaze, Paul Gilroy and Postcolonialism – critical perspectives on representation within film.
Year 9 - Fortnite Franchise - Spring 2027 (SM)
Video games have developed from simple arcade and home-console experiences into a major global media industry. Revise the history of video games and the rise of online gaming culture. Study Fortnite as a successful media franchise, considering its gameplay, characters, branding, collaborations and use of social media. Explore how Fortnite creates an interactive community and influences popular culture. Apply Uses and Gratifications Theory to understand why audiences play and engage with games. Remember key motivations such as entertainment, escapism, social interaction, personal identity and competition. Consider how different audiences use Fortnite and how digital platforms encourage continued participation.
Fortnite Franchise: History of Video Games and Fortnite – exploring the development and impact of video game culture.
Explorations: Uses and Gratifications Theory – understanding audience motivations and media consumption.
Year 9 - British Multicultural Film - Summer 2027 (SM and SH)
British multicultural films explore identity, culture, family, belonging and discrimination within diverse communities. Revise Blinded by the Light, East Is East, Rocks and Bend It Like Beckham, considering how characters and communities are represented. Explore the role of the BFI and BBFC, including film funding, classification and audience expectations. Understand cultural contexts such as the Windrush generation, immigration, racism and the rise of the National Front. Apply bell hooks’ Intersectional Feminism to examine how race, gender, class and other identities can overlap and shape experiences. Consider how filmmakers challenge stereotypes and give audiences different perspectives on British multicultural society.
Year 10 - Advertising - Autumn 2026 (SH)
Advertising persuades audiences to buy products, use services or change behaviour. Revise the history of advertising and how techniques have developed across different media. Study Quality Street and NHS 111, analysing their use of colour, imagery, slogans, sound, celebrity, humour and target audiences. Explore the social and historical contexts of advertising, including the Regency period and the 1950s, and consider how society and technology influenced advertising styles. Apply Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory to examine how women and men can be represented for a presumed heterosexual male audience. Consider how advertisements construct gender, identity, desire and power.
Advertising: History of Advertising, Quality Street and NHS 111 – analysing advertising techniques and their social context.
Explorations: Regency Period 1950s– understanding historical influences on advertising and media. Laura Mulvey and Male Gaze
Year 10 - Magazines - Autumn 2026 (SH)
Magazines combine visual design, photography, language and editorial content to attract specific target audiences. Revise the history of magazines and how print media has developed over time. Study Vogue and GQ, analysing their front covers, typography, colour, images, layout, mode of address and representations of gender, lifestyle and identity. Explore He Named Me Malala and the Taliban conflict, considering how media representations can shape audience understanding of conflict, religion, gender and social issues. Apply bell hooks’ Race and Feminism to examine how race and gender influence representation. Consider whose voices are included, excluded or given power in media.
Magazines: History of Magazines, Vogue and GQ – examining magazine design, target audiences, and editorial content.
Explorations: He Named Me Malala and Taliban Conflict – analysing media representations of conflict and social issues. Bell Hooks - Race and Feminism
Year 10 - Radio - Spring 2027 (SH)
Radio has played an important role in British society, culture and entertainment since its development in the early twentieth century. Revise the history of radio and how broadcasting has changed through new technologies and digital platforms. Study Desert Island Discs, considering its format, presenters, guests, audience and use of personal stories to create meaning. Understand Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) and its aim to inform, educate and entertain audiences. Apply Curran and Seaton’s theory to explore how media ownership, power and regulation can influence content and diversity. Consider how radio serves different audiences and reflects changing attitudes, values and British culture.
Radio: History of Radio, Desert Island Discs – examining the role of radio in society and culture.
Explorations: Public Service Broadcasting and Curran and Seaton – analysing the impact of media ownership and regulation.
Year 10 - Crime Drama - Spring 2027 (SH)
Crime dramas entertain audiences through mystery, tension, conflict, investigation and representations of crime and policing. Revise the development of crime drama from The Sweeney in the 1970s to modern programmes such as Trigger Point. Explore how changes in policing, technology and society have influenced the genre. Study 21st-century policing and compare it with representations of policing in earlier decades. Study Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, considering their use of 1970s and 1980s settings, music, costumes and cultural references. Apply Postmodernism and Intertextuality to explore how texts reference, remix and challenge earlier media conventions and genres.
Television: Crime Drama, Trigger Point (2027), The Sweeney, 21st Century Policing, and The 1970s – exploring the evolution of crime drama conventions.
Explorations: 1980s, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, Postmodernism and Intertextuality – analysing narrative techniques and cultural references.
Year 10 - NEA: Music Video - Summer 2027 (SH)
For your NEA (Non-Exam Assessment), you will create your own music video based on a genre that will be confirmed by the exam board. You will apply the media language, representation and audience knowledge developed throughout the course to create an effective promotional product. Your work should demonstrate careful planning, creativity and an understanding of how music videos communicate meaning. You will need to consider camera shots, editing, mise-en-scène, performance, narrative, representation and audience. The final video should follow the requirements of the exam board’s brief.
Year 11 - NEA Rock MUSIC VIDEO — Autumn 2027 (SH and SM)
Create a 2–2½ minute music video for a rock track, using a completely new fictional artist or band persona. Your chosen song must not already have an official music video. The finished video must combine performance footage and narrative, filmed across at least two locations, with a varied range of camera shots, angles and movements. Editing should respond closely to the beat and rhythm of the music. You must create your own footage and include on-screen graphics featuring the artist/band name and song title. Your video should construct a clear representation of a social group and be supported by a 250-word Statement of Aims and Intentions.
Year 11 - Newspapers - Autumn 2026 (SH)
Newspapers inform, entertain and influence audiences through headlines, images, articles, layout and language. Revise the historical development of newspapers and how print journalism has changed in response to technology and changing audiences. Study The Sun and The Guardian, comparing their target audiences, political viewpoints, representations and use of lettering and fonts. Explore contemporary issues such as the Partygate scandal and the Leveson Inquiry, considering press regulation, journalism and media responsibility. Revise political satire and how newspapers can use humour and criticism to comment on politicians and current affairs. Consider how newspaper coverage can shape audience opinions and influence public debate.
Newspapers: Historical context of newspapers, The Sun and The Guardian. Lettering and Fonts
Explorations: Examination of contemporary issues through newspaper coverage – focusing on the Partygate Scandal, The Leveson Inquiry, and the use of Political Satire.
Year 11 - Media Theories for GCSE - Autumn 2026 (SM)
Media theories help us understand how media products create meaning and affect audiences. Stuart Hall’s Representation Theory explains how media representations are constructed and how they shape ideas about people, groups and identities. Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze Theory explores how women can be represented from a heterosexual male perspective, often objectifying female characters. Uses and Gratifications Theory examines why audiences choose particular media, including entertainment, escapism, social interaction and personal identity. Curran and Seaton’s Power and Media Industries Theory explores how media ownership, concentration of power and regulation can influence what audiences see and hear.
Year 11 - Revising Component 1 - Spring 2027 (SH)
Eduqas GCSE Media Studies Component 1 covers six media industries and their set products. Revise James Bond (The Man with the Golden Gun and No Time to Die), Fortnite, Advertising (Quality Street and NHS 111), Magazines (Vogue and GQ), Radio (Desert Island Discs and The Archers) and Newspapers (The Sun and The Guardian). Across these topics, focus on media language, representation, audiences, industries and contexts. Know key theories including Laura Mulvey, Stuart Hall, Paul Gilroy, bell hooks, Uses and Gratifications, and Curran and Seaton. Revise historical contexts, ownership, regulation, stereotypes, audiences and how media constructs meaning.
Year 11 - Revising Component 2 - Spring 2027 (SM)
Eduqas GCSE Media Studies Component 2 focuses on Television and Pop Music Promotion. For television, revise crime drama through Trigger Point, The Sweeney, Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, exploring genre conventions, policing, narrative, the 1970s and 1980s, Postmodernism and Intertextuality. For Pop Music Promotion, revise the history of music videos, web design and promotional strategies through Lizzo, Justin Bieber and Duran Duran. Explore MTV, New Pop, Top of the Pops and Smash Hits Magazine, considering how artists promote themselves across platforms. Apply Stuart Hall’s Representation Theory to examine identity, stereotypes and constructed media meanings.
Component One
James Bond Franchise: Man With The Golden Gun and No Time To Die
Explorations: Laura Mulvey and the Male Gaze, Paul Gilroy and Postcolonialism – critical perspectives on representation within film.
Fortnite Franchise: History of Video Games and Fortnite – exploring the development and impact of video game culture.
Explorations: Uses and Gratifications Theory – understanding audience motivations and media consumption.
Advertising: History of Advertising, Quality Street and NHS 111 – analysing advertising techniques and their social context.
Explorations: Regency Period 1950s– understanding historical influences on advertising and media. Laura Mulvey and Male Gaze
Magazines: History of Magazines, Vogue and GQ – examining magazine design, target audiences, and editorial content.
Explorations: He Named Me Malala and Taliban Conflict – analysing media representations of conflict and social issues. Bell Hooks - Race and Feminism
Radio: History of Radio, Desert Island Discs (2027)– examining the role of radio in society and culture.
Explorations: Public Service Broadcasting and Curran and Seaton – analysing the impact of media ownership and regulation.
Newspapers: Historical context of newspapers, The Sun and The Guardian. Lettering and Fonts
Explorations: Examination of contemporary issues through newspaper coverage – focusing on the Partygate Scandal, The Leveson Inquiry, and the use of Political Satire.
Component Two
Television: Crime Drama, Trigger Point (2027), The Sweeney, 21st Century Policing, and The 1970s – exploring the evolution of crime drama conventions.
Explorations: 1980s, Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, Postmodernism and Intertextuality – analysing narrative techniques and cultural references.
Pop Music Promotion: History of Music Video, Web Design, Lizzo, Justin Bieber, Duran Duran,– examining promotional strategies across different platforms.
Explorations: New Pop and MTV, Top of the Pops Smash Hits Magazine Stuart Hall - Representation Theory – understanding how media constructs meaning and identity.
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