RELIGIOUS STUDIES

Department members:
Mrs Amy Stickels (Head of Department)
Mr Rick Kuhn

Levels taught in the department:
Key Stage 3
GCSE
AS and A2 Level

WHY STUDY RELIGION?

	There are few careers and situations in your life where you won't encounter people with different beliefs and ideas from yours
	Learning about different beliefs can help us to be more tolerant and understanding
	We can find out what other people believe and why, by relating their experiences and beliefs to our own lives
	Religion is an important part of people's lives and is reflected in different ways: for example in art, literature, history or music
	It's interesting to explore some of life's big questions like "Why are we here?" and "What may happen after death?"
	It can help us work out our own beliefs and ideas about life
	The skills we develop in RE such as evaluating different views, looking at different types of literature and understanding symbolism, can be useful in other subjects and situations
	It is good fun and can help us be more aware of life, the universe and everything!

KEY STAGE 3:

All students have a one hour lesson per week of Religious Studies. We follow the Warwickshire Agreed Syllabus for RE and so in the main we teach Christianity, but we also look at the other five main world religions – Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism. The religions are approached through a common theme. Religious Studies in this school is suitable for those with and without religious belief.

Course content:

Year 7

	The Big Questions (philosophical questions about the existence of God, evil/ suffering, life after death).
	Religion around us (an in-depth look at the different religions in our locality, why there are many religions and how they live together)
	Sikhism and social equality
	Hinduism – the image of God

Year 8

	Buddhism – How can I be happy?
	Heroes and Villains (a look at the concept of good verses evil in different religions)
	Christianity
	Does science mean the death of God? (a study of the science – religion debate)
	Religion and Art (focusing on Christian art)

Year 9

	Islam – A World Religion: A British Religion
	Holocaust – How should we remember?
	Why is peace in Israel difficult to achieve?
	Introduction to GCSE – making moral decisions.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES at GCSE

GCSE Short Course

All students study for a short course GCSE in Religious Studies (Religion and Life, Edexcel). This is taught through a one hour lesson per week and is examined at the end of Year 11. The aim is to introduce and explore different social issues , for example racism, sexism, abortion, euthanasia, marriage and divorce. The topics are covered through Christian and Muslim perspectives.

At present there is also the option for girls to study for a further short course in Religious Studies (Religion and Society) , which when put together with Religion and Life short course, gives a full course GCSE. At the moment this is purely voluntary and girls complete this during lunchtime lessons.

Syllabus: EDEXCEL 3480 (Unit A)

Aims:

	To acquire and develop knowledge, understanding of the beliefs, values and traditions of one or more religion
	To consider the influence of the beliefs, values and traditions of one or more religion
	To consider religious and other responses to moral issues
	To identify, investigate and respond to fundamental questions of life, raised by religion and human experience

Assessment:
As RE is compulsory in KS4, all pupils will attend lessons and will be encouraged to sit the examination. The final decision will be made in discussion with the subject teacher, parents, pupil, form tutor or Key Stage Leader, as appropriate.

There is one written paper lasting two hours.

Pupils will also be assessed on their performance in the lessons (listening skills, questions asked and contribution to group or class discussions) as well as on assignments completed during the lessons which will be filed in pupil folders.

SIXTH FORM:
OCR AS/A2 Philosophy of Religion and Religious Ethics. (Please see the sixth form curriculum area of the site, or click here.)

CAREER/HIGHER EDUCATION VALUE OF RE:

	Develops a wide range of transferable skills recognised by employers and higher education as being of great value, ie: collecting, synthesising and interpreting information from a wide range of sources
	Communicating findings of research
	Identify and develop links between different parts of the subject
	Complements other arts/humanities subjects very well, such as History and English
	When taken with science subjects, forms a very broad-based curriculum
	Not only useful for vicars and RE teachers! Useful for those considering careers such as Law, Journalism or Medicine, where an ability to empathise with others' ideas and opinions is valued.

For more information about Religious Studies (Philosophy and Ethics) at A-level, please click here.

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