Creative & Media Diploma

Diplomas are new qualifications which will roll-out in many subject areas over the next few years. The Creative and Media Diploma has been running very successfully since September 2008 at The County High School, Leftwich. Indeed, in its first year, 2008/09, it was the only Diploma available to Vale Royal students and the only Creative and Media Diploma available in Cheshire.

The 'Vale Royal Diploma Consortium' was also successful last year in securing a substantial amount of capital build money to provide a purpose-built Diploma Centre in the school with state-of-the-art, industry standard facilities and students studying this course will also have the chance to study at the new 'Creative & Media Academy' at Mid-Cheshire College Diplomas are available at three Levels: Foundation, Higher & Advanced. The school is offering the Higher Level Creative & Media Diploma which as a whole is worth the equivalent of 7.5 GCSE's at Grade A*-C and will take up two days per week of study (initially Wednesdays and Fridays in Year 10).

The Diploma is made up of six 'components':

  • Principal Learning (the main creative & media studies)
  • A Project (undertaken in Year 11)
  • Personal, Learning & Thinking Skills (developed throughout)
  • Functional Skills (Level 2 qualifications in English, Maths & ICT)
  • Work-based Learning (with local employers)
  • Additional Specialist Learning (a choice of a range of Level 2 courses including ones at Mid-Cheshire College, ½ a day per week)

A key feature of the Diploma is the employer input with visits to and from local employers forming a key part of the course, enabling students to apply learning in real-life contexts and develop the key skills needed for employment within the creative and media industries. The course develops students into independent learners.

For a flavour of the Diploma, please download our information leaflet.