Creative iMedia

Digital media plays an important part in many areas of our everyday lives and is also an important part in global economies.  There is demand from employers for an increasingly skilled and technically  literate workforce as more and more media products are produced digitally.  A Cambridge National in Creative iMedia provides students with specific and transferable skills and a solid foundation in understanding and applying this subject in higher education and the workforce.

What is a Cambridge National?

Cambridge Nationals are vocational qualifications, equivalent to GCSEs, for 14–16 year olds.

Recognised on performance tables (up to 2023) each qualification goes from Level 1 to 2 (with Level 2 being equivalent to a GCSE).

They provide an excellent foundation for progression to Cambridge Technicals and other Level 3 vocational qualifications as well as A Levels and apprenticeships.

What is this course?

Creative iMedia is a vocational course designed to equip learners with a range of creative media skills. The course has been purposely developed to be ‘hands on’ and has been designed to challenge all learners through a range of independent project-based assignments.

How is it assessed?

The course is made up of four units; 1 exam worth 25% and 3 project-based assignments worth 25% each.

Examination

The examined unit focuses on the pre-production skills used in the creative and digital media industry.

The exam is 1 hour 15 minutes long and the school has the flexibility to enter students for this paper multiple times across the two years of the course if necessary.

Projects

The project-based assignments are assessed through a portfolio of work marked in school and then externally moderated.

The first project is about creating digital graphics such as album covers, advertisements and book covers.

Later projects are chosen by the school, but could involve comic book storytelling, multipage websites, interactive multimedia products or designing a game concept.

What skills are taught and developed?

Each project-based unit follows a similar pattern, developing skills in research, planning, design and evaluation. Much of the work will be completed on a computer, so learners will develop essential IT skills and will likely use software they have little or no experience of using to date. Learners will also depend on their written communication skills in all units for research and evaluation of their portfolio work.

Where could this course lead?

This course gives students a good foundation to go on to study ‘A’ Level Media Studies or Level 2/3 qualifications in Media or ICT.

In terms of employment, this course is perfect for those who wish to pursue careers in the creative media industry, such as graphic designer, film producer or photographer or careers in IT such as website developer, software/game developer, social media manager or animator.