A Level Film Studies

Applications open: Monday 3rd November 2025

Applications close: Students should apply by 1st March 2026. Applications received after this date will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

How to apply: All students, both internal and external, should apply via Kent Choices. Please select your A Level subjects. There is no need to select EPQ as students can enrol on this directly in Year 12.

All internal applicants will be invited to a consultation with a member of the Senior Leadership Team in Term Three.

We invite all external applicants to book a consultation with a member of the Senior Leadership Team once they have received a conditional offer. You will be contacted with the information on how to do this.

Admission Arrangements for Entry into Year 12 Application Process

• Students should apply by 1 March.

• Students should accept the school’s conditional offer and rank their preferences.

• Priority will be given to existing students transferring from Year 11 who meet the below entry criteria.

• Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar operates a sixth form for a total of 400 students. 200 places overall will be available in year 12.

• The Published Admission Number (PAN) for year 12 is 20. This is the number of places which will be offered on an annual basis to eligible external applicants. If fewer than 180 of the school’s own year 11 pupils transfer into year 12, additional external pupils will be admitted until year 12 meets its capacity of 200.

• Students who apply after March 1st deadline will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

• Those who have studied in international schools abroad who have studied other types of qualifications will be considered on an individual basis. A wide range of subjects will need to be studied at Level 2. A meeting with the AHT for the Sixth Form will be held to identify that relevant comparable entry criteria are met. The school will be the sole arbiter of measures of equivalence when students have sat examinations other than GCSEs.

• Those who have not studied GCSEs should contact the school in advance of applying via Kent Choices.

• For variations and new courses that are not offered at GCSE, please visit our website: www.langton.kent.sch.uk

Entry Criteria

All students need to meet the following to gain a place in Year 12 at Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School:

a) A minimum of 8 GCSEs grades 9-5, including 6 grades 6s*

b) A minimum grade 5 in their best English and Mathematics

c) The specific entry requirements for the A Levels they wish to study

d) If a student meets a) and b) but not c) we may be able to offer them an alternative programme of study once the over-subscription criteria have been applied

*This requirement can be waived where there are special extenuating reasons why an applicant has not met this standard.

Oversubscription Criteria

Following the enrolment of internal students transferring from Year 11, all remaining places will be allocated to students who, based on GCSE grades gained in August, are meeting our general entry requirements. Where there are more students seeking places than the number of places available, the oversubscription criteria will be applied in the priority order set out below to rank eligible students (i.e., those who have met our above entry criteria), until the overall figure for the year group is reached. Before applying the oversubscription criteria, children with an Education and Health Care Plan which names the school will be admitted; published admissions numbers will be reduced accordingly.

a) Looked after children and children who were previously looked after but immediately after being looked after became subject to adoption, a child arrangements order, or special guardianship order and children adopted from state care outside of England and who meet the above entry criteria. A looked after child is a child who is (a) in the care of a local authority, or (b) being provided with an accommodation by a local authority in the exercise of their social services functions (see the definition is Section 221 (1) of the Children Act 1989).

b) Current Year 11 students from Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School who meet the above entry criteria.

c) Children in receipt of Pupil Premium – a child is eligible for Pupil Premium where they have been registered for free school meals (FSM) at any point in the last 6 years and who meet the above entry criteria. This does not

include students who have only been eligible to receive Universal Infant Free School Meals. Pupil Premium is also afforded to Children in Local Authority Care or Previously in Local Authority Care; however, these children are prioritised in the relevant criteria above.

d) An application from the child of a current serving member of the Armed Forces Community (with supporting evidence)

e) External students who have met the above entry criteria.

Where two applicants have an otherwise equal priority under the oversubscription criteria, the following tie-break will apply:

i. Eligible students who are likely to achieve the highest academic grades based on GCSE attainment. This will be measured by ranked average predicted grade in their best 8 qualifications, the highest score being given the highest rank. The school will be the sole arbiter of measures of equivalence when students have sat examinations other than GCSEs. IGCSEs are considered to be equal to GCSE grades.

ii. The nearness of an applicant’s home address to school. Distance is measured in a straight line using the National Land and Property Gazetteer (NLPG) address point data. Distances are measured from a point defined as within the applicant’s home to a point defined as within the school as specified by NLPG. The same address point on the school site is used for everybody

In recent years, the Film Studies department has achieved some of the best results in the school. In our A Level course you will study the major art from of the last hundred years, going back in time to Silent Cinema and forward into the 21st Century, stretching in scope from British and American film to non-English-language cinema in Europe and the wider world; everything you learn will fuel your creativity in the coursework module, making your own short film or screenplay.

Outline of the Course

In Year 12 students will study:

• 2 Hollywood films, from 1930-1960 and 1961-1990. Examples: Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958), Alien (Scott, 1979)
• One US independent film post-2010. Examples: Beasts of the Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012)
• Two films for Global Cinema. Examples: Pan’s Labyrinth (Del Toro, 2006), City of God (Meirelles, 2002)
• Two modern British films. Examples: Shaun of the Dead (Wright, 2004), This is England (Meadows, 2006)
• Year 12 students also begin to make a production. Either: a film extract, Or: a screenplay, plus a storyboard

In Year 13 students will study:

• A second American film (modern, mainstream). Examples: Little Women (Gerwig, 2019), LaLa Land (Chazelle, 2016)
• A documentary film. Examples: Amy (Kapadia, 2015), For Sama (2019)
• A silent film, or group of films. Examples: Strike (Eisenstein, 1924), Sunrise (Murnau, 1927)
• An experimental film, or group of films. Examples: Mulholland Drive (Lynch, US, 2001)
• Year 13 students complete the production they began in Year 12

Type of Assessment Duration Weighing

1 Varieties of Film and Film Making 2 hours 30 minutes 35%
Examination. Section A: Hollywood 1930-1990
Section B: American film since 2005 (two films)
Section C: British film since 1995 (two films)

2 Global Filmmaking Perspectives 2 hours 30 minutes 35%
Examination. Section A: Global film (two films)
Section B: Documentary film
Section C: Film movements - Silent cinema
Section D: Film movements - Experimental film

3: Production
Either a short film or a screenplay plus storyboard 6 weeks 30%
An evaluative analysis 2 weeks

Minimum Entry Criteria

Desired: 7 in English Language

Essential: 6 in English Language

In recent years our students have gone on to study Film at prestigious universities such as University College, London. This course develops critical appreciation of theory, debating and communication skills and pairs effectively with English, History, Politics, Psychology and Sociology. For those wishing to develop their skills in the practical elements of film-making, this A Level would also work in combination with Art and Textiles.