Media Studies is a subject still sniffed at in some quarters, so who better to provide a reframe than the Head of Media at top-ranked Hurtwood House?
You still hear people question the value of Media Studies – ‘meeja studies’, as some wags call it. Philip Ward, Head of Media at Hurtwood House, is relaxed about the reasons behind this. “There is this legacy of being the butt of jokes. It probably fits in the pattern of traditional subjects versus modern subjects,” he says. So rather like the 1980s ‘ology joke? He adds that English Literature used to get it in the neck in relation to Classics long before that.
Hurtwood has long considered Media a worthy subject – in line with its whole approach. “Creativity is right at the heart of our curriculum,” says Philip Ward. “Creative success is given equal respect with academic success, and that flows through the balance of what students study, the range available to study.”
Media is a star here. The sixth form has been number one in the world for Media Studies A-level grades for the past two years. Last summer, a Hurtwood student achieved top marks in the world (and then moved on to IE Business School, Madrid). This is not unusual, as students regularly move on to top-tier universities with this A level in their portfolio.
Around a third of students here include it among their choices (last academic year that amounted to 70 A-level students, 23 of whom achieved A* grades). Just to dispel another rumour, Media Studies is not a soft touch for A level – 2.3% of students worldwide achieve top grade.
Students here mix Media with subjects you might not think of as natural bedfellows – Maths is the second most popular A level at Hurtwood. No one here sees any problems with combining the subject with sciences, languages or other traditional subjects. “Media Studies is the perfect match – 50% of the assessment is academic exams, looking at subjects like media law, regulation and media industries,” says Philip Ward.
“The other half is what we try to help students excel in – the creative practical side – where they develop a completely different set of skills. These are fundamental skills to most of the different degrees they go on to, but also the careers they pursue afterwards.”
The skills garnered through that practical side are needed in any workplace. “Communication, cooperation, technical skills, scheduling and organisational skills, planning projects,” he says. In other words, telling a story or getting a project from first idea to execution. “Whether you go into politics, business or the public sector, you are always trying to communicate your ideas and bring people with you – build strategies and think how you execute them.”
Hurtwood creates that landscape of developing an idea in a testbed setting. And it’s a pretty cool testbed. “We’re very lucky. We’ve got a purpose-built film studio and professional standard equipment. They are only as good as the students who use the equipment and the teachers that guide them.”
The teachers here come with real industry experience and there’s a great alumni list to call on, along with impressive black books of industry contacts. “We have set designers, lighting co-ordinators, DOPs, editors. They come in to give workshops. For the students, it opens their eyes to all the different pathways. We’re really lucky with the contacts we have.”
“We’re studying texts that are contemporary. If you tried to list those subjects in a traditional way, there’s no canon. But that ignores the point”
Recent visitors include Chris Corbauld, special effects supervisor for a whole host of James Bond films. Also Chris Spinet, who has worked with – among others – Steven Spielberg. While rubbing shoulders with the greats brings excitement for students, it also reminds them of their own potential pathways and the importance of pursuing passions.
Of course, many students won’t go on to work in the film and creative industries, but they still take what Philip Ward describes as “cultural capital” into their working life. “Every kind of business now will have a media presence. It’s integral to strategy for getting messages over, bringing in business, maintaining the brand and ensuring its status and standing.”
Philip Ward thinks one of the issues around those ‘meeja’ jokes has been that it is a ‘live’ subject, constantly evolving along with technology, and therefore harder to pin down. “We’re always studying texts that are contemporary. If you tried to list those subjects in a traditional way, there’s no canon. But that ignores the point. It’s learning the language of the texts, how they are produced, the context, and the relationship between producer, text and audience.”
So, in Media Studies, Hurtwood students are gathering what Ward calls the “grammar” of anything they read, hear or watch. “They can be analytical and consider the texts in every ecosystem and draw a critical view,” he adds.
When it’s framed that way, Media is a subject for the modern age – one in which much more school time is now devoted to helping young people learn the art of critical analysis as they navigate a virtual world in which the dangers of being wide-eyed and unprepared are all too apparent.
Hurtwood, and Philp Ward, have absolutely no doubts that this is a subject for any 21st-century student, living large parts of life online. “That’s where all of us are living all of the time now, especially the generation we’re teaching. Their world, their experience, their relationships, their understanding is shaped through that. Coming to it with critical awareness – of context, who has produced it, and its function – is critical.”
Hurtwood House hurtwoodhouse.com
Further reading: DOYRMs on the importance of co-curricular culture
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