Religious Education and Philosophy

In Year 7, we begin by looking at the key concepts of symbolic teachings and practices and the influence this has on believers' lives. We develop these concepts throughout the year in five topic areas. 'Signs, Symbols and Stories' covers the use of pictorial symbols as well as symbols used in worship and in teachings. In the 'Religion and Worship' topic we look at all the different forms of worship across the world and the significance of worship in a believers’ life. This topic establishes the notion that for religious believers, worship is an integral part of life and influences them regularly. 'Pilgrimage' builds on the previous topic of religion and worship as we take a deeper look into the benefit of pilgrimage for a believer and compare it to the concept of tourism to ensure that the students are aware that a pilgrimage is a completely different practice to a holiday. 'Jerusalem' is a deep dive into the notion of pilgrimage and sacred spaces. The students complete research into the importance of Jerusalem for the Abrahamic faiths and attempt to make suggestions as to how conflict between them could be solved. Religious Art refreshes the students’ knowledge of worship, symbolism and attempts at bridging the gaps between multiple faiths. These topic areas are revisited in GCSE RE when students look at Beliefs & Practice and Religion, Peace & Conflict.

In Year 8, we continue to develop on previous learning but with a focus on how religious beliefs have a direct impact on the lives of believers. When students look at 'Charity', we cover religious arguments for the existence of evil and suffering and religious responses to the suffering of others. 'Animal Rights' leads on from human suffering to animal suffering which is covered again in GCSE RE when students look at Religion and Life Issues Moral Philosophy. 'Festivals of Sacrifice' is a deep dive into Passover, Easter and Eid ul-Fitr and the use of animals within these festivals or personal sacrifices. Students then look at 'Life After Death where they consider how religious believers view death and how that influences their actions in life. This is seen again in A-Level Philosophy where students look at Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics of the Mind. Fianlly in Year 8, students study 'Leaders and Founders' which is a study of religious founders; Abraham, Buddha, Jesus, Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and who they later inspired to take action, MLK, Gandhi, Malala Yousafzai, Ruth Bader Ginsberg. This ties in with all of our previous learning by collecting how they put their beliefs into practice in their lives and is covered again at GCSE.

In Year 9, we focus on embedding the skills and knowledge of beliefs and practices that students need to continue RE into GCSE. As with the GCSE course, the students simultaneously gain; knowledge of religion through understanding and explaining religious teachings and practices; knowledge from religion through analysing and evaluating these religious teachings and practices. 'Rites of Passage' is a direct study of how religious beliefs and teachings have a direct impact on a believers’ life whether it be through a baptism, a bar mitzvah, weddings or funerals. As religious practices make up 25% of the content of the GCSE course, this is essential for the students continuing to GCSE to study. The 'Crime and Punishment' topic is lifted directly from the GCSE syllabus where students looks at religious attitudes towards crime, criminals and punishment including capital punishment. Students finish Year 9 looking at 'Religion and the Media' which is designed to make students aware of the power of the Media as both an instrument for good (entertainment and freedom of speech) and for bad (Islamophobia and radicalisation).

At GCSE, students follow the AQA Religious Studies A Syllabus: Christianity and Islam. This is because Islam is the most commonly practised religion in our school, aside from Christianity.

At A Level, students follow the AQA Philosophy syllabus as Religious Studies A-Level was too narrow for our students as it only allowed the study of one religion, in addition, we have found through research that Philosophy is better received than Religious Studies by Oxbridge and Russell Group universities which most of our students aspire to attend.