Cambridge A Level Media Studies 9607 Past Papers 2026
Download free Cambridge AS & A Level Media Studies 9607 past papers, mark schemes, examiner reports & grade thresholds. 24 exam sessions from 2015–2026.
2025 Oct-Nov
Latest Session
24
Sessions
2015–2026
71
Question Papers
71
Mark Schemes
100% coverage
19
Examiner Reports
79% of sessions
21
Grade Thresholds
Components & time pressure
Marks per minute shows how fast you have to work — the higher the number, the tighter the time pressure in that paper.
| Paper | Component | Marks | Duration | Marks / min | Pressure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | Foundation Portfolio (AS coursework) | 50 | Coursework | — | — |
| Paper 2 | Media Texts and Contexts (AS exam) | 50 | 2h 30m | 0.33 | Steady |
| Paper 3 | Advanced Portfolio (A2 coursework) | 100 | Coursework | — | — |
| Paper 4 | Critical Perspectives (A2 exam) | 60 | 2h 30m | 0.40 | Steady |
Component structure extracted from 1 official Cambridge documents (2025). Timings and mark totals are taken from the papers themselves.
Yearly Exam Sessions
How is Cambridge AS & A Level Media Studies 9607 examined?
Cambridge AS & A Level Media Studies is examined through 4 paper components. Understanding each component helps you allocate revision time effectively.
Paper 1
50 marksFoundation Portfolio (AS coursework)
Duration: Coursework
Paper 2
50 marksMedia Texts and Contexts (AS exam)
Duration: 2h 30m
Paper 3
100 marksAdvanced Portfolio (A2 coursework)
Duration: Coursework
Paper 4
60 marksCritical Perspectives (A2 exam)
Duration: 2h 30m
What Cambridge examiners say about Media Studies
Verbatim quotes from 1 official Cambridge examiner reports (2025). Every quote is attributable to a specific paper and session — these are the things Cambridge markers flag year after year.
Describing technical elements instead of analysing how…
Some candidates simply described technical elements featured within the extract and did not develop their answers much further when it came to exploring meaning, making basic statements like 'the close-up shows emotion'.
Neglecting sound and editing in Section A
Candidates were less successful in identifying how sound and editing helped to create meaning, however. The range of the technical elements covered, as well as their depth, is a direct contributory to the marks which can be achieved for terminology, therefore centres are strongly advised to guide their candidates to ensure that they produced responses which are balanced across all four assessed technical elements of moving image language.
Ignoring representation
This limitation in addressing both of the key concepts being assessed in Section A is one which has been noted by many Examiners and is evident across the entire cohort sitting the paper.
Most Common Mistakes — Media Studies (9607)
Based on analysis of 1 official Cambridge examiner reports (2025). Avoid these errors to maximise your marks.
Describing technical elements instead of analysing how they create meaning (Section A)
Paper 2 · Across all variants, Paper 2 Section A
Neglecting sound and editing in Section A — only writing about camerawork and mise-en-scene
Paper 2 · Across all three Paper 2 variants
Ignoring representation — writing only about media language in Section A
Paper 2 · Across all Paper 2 variants
Section B answers without contemporary case studies, or with potted histories instead of applied analysis
Paper 2 · Across all Paper 2 variants
Time mismanagement on Paper 4 — long Section A answers and a thin Media Ecology response
Paper 4 · Across all Paper 4 variants
Topics Students Struggle With Most
Sound and editing analysis in Paper 2 Section A
'Candidates were less successful in identifying how sound and editing helped to create meaning.' Editing in particular is consistently the weakest of the four technical elements across all variants.
Paper 2
Distinguishing 'national' vs 'local' audiences in Paper 2 Section B
'Many candidates found this question problematic – some candidates wanted to swap national for major and local for independent/niche; other candidates wanted to conflate national with international and correspondingly conflate local for national.' Vocabulary precision is a recurring weakness.
Paper 2
Media Effects beyond Bandura (Paper 4 Regulation)
'For so many weaker responses the only theorist studied appears to be Bandura – a much-criticised research project from the early 1960s. This has now become something of a default.' Candidates need Barker, Livingstone, Petley, Gauntlett, Kermode, Byron.
Paper 4
Contemporary case studies for Postmodernism
'This topic is regularly hindered by the use of very old examples, including Pulp Fiction, The Matrix series or Truman Show.' Candidates rely on dated texts despite the syllabus requiring case studies within ~5 years.
Paper 4
Active vs passive audiences — Media Ecology (Paper 4 Section B)
'There was a recurrent theme that audiences used to be passive but are now active which David Buckingham states cannot be sustained if we examine research on television audiences by Hall, Morley et al.' Candidates over-simplify the shift to active audiences.
Paper 4
Social media element of coursework promotional package (Paper 3)
'Unfortunately, this element continues to be the weakest part of many packages. A strong major product and minor print product were often let down by a poor social media product.' Candidates drop a few images into Instagram without research or branding.
Paper 3
Research and planning for minor coursework tasks (Paper 3 AO3 strand 3)
'Unfortunately, the lack of research and planning for the minor tasks very often resulted in an adjustment of marks for AO3 (iii).' Centres consistently lose marks for treating minor products as afterthoughts.
Paper 3
Creative Critical Reflection format and creativity (Paper 1 CCR)
'Many candidates continue to produce what are essentially oral essays for all four questions: this should be discouraged. A talking head or voice audio is not really a creative approach and certainly should not be used for all four questions.' Limits responses to level 3 maximum.
Paper 1
Media Studies (9607) — Cambridge AS & A Level Full Archive 2015–2026
This page contains all 182 available papers for Cambridge A Level Media Studies (9607) — 24 exam sessions from 2015 to 2026. Each session includes question papers, mark schemes, and where available, examiner reports and grade threshold documents. All files are free to download as PDF — no account required.
Cambridge A Level Media Studies (9607) is examined through multiple paper components. Question papers are available in two or three variants per session (v1, v2, v3) — each variant is sat in a different time zone but covers the same syllabus content and is equivalent in difficulty. The paper number in the filename indicates which component: for example, 9607_qp_12 is Paper 1, Variant 2.
Mark schemes for 9607 show the exact marking points accepted by Cambridge examiners. Many questions have multiple acceptable phrasings — look for 'accept', 'allow', and 'credit' in the mark scheme to understand the full range of valid responses. Examiner reports (where available) reveal the most common errors made by the cohort and what top-band answers looked like, making them essential reading before the actual exam.
The most effective way to use this archive is to attempt past papers under timed exam conditions, then analyse your mark scheme results by component. Track which paper components and question types you score lowest on — this tells you exactly where to focus revision. Grade threshold documents show the minimum mark needed for each grade in that specific session, which helps calibrate how your practice scores translate to actual grades.
Questions, answered.
You can download all Cambridge Media Studies 9607 past papers right here on PapersDaddy. We have 24 exam sessions from 2015–2026 — including question papers, mark schemes, examiner reports, and grade thresholds for 9607. Click any session below to view and download PDFs.
Yes! Every Cambridge AS & A Level Media Studies (9607) exam session includes the corresponding mark scheme alongside the question paper. Mark schemes show exactly how marks are allocated, helping you understand what examiners look for in top-scoring answers.
Start with recent 9607 papers (2025–2023) to understand current trends. Practice under timed conditions, then mark yourself using the mark scheme. Read examiner reports to learn common mistakes. For targeted revision, use Media Studies 9607 topical past papers to focus on specific topics.
We have Cambridge AS & A Level Media Studies (9607) papers from May/June, October/November, and March sessions (where applicable), covering 2015–2026. That's 24 exam sessions in total.