Aims

Years 7 - 9: Religious Studies

The Key Stage 3 Religious Studies curriculum aims to give students a solid foundation in the six major religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism).  In addition, they learn about Humanism, secular and atheist views. We also aim to build key religious studies skills such as textual criticism, debate and critical analysis.  The whole key stage 3 curriculum is thematic and rather than spending a term at a time studying one religion students will study a theme through various religious lenses at a time. 

Below is a summary of what students can expect to learn in Years 7-9. 

Year 7

Term 1 – Looking for God

• This a study of what the concept of God means across a spectrum of different belief systems including non-religious views such as Humanism. We also look at how different cultures experience God and how different religions attempt to covey the qualities of God. 

Term 2 – Sharing beliefs 

• This is a study of what community means to different religious traditions and how this is implemented within different belief systems. Students will also look at some core beliefs such as eschatology and how this both differs and has similarities across the spectrum of faith.

Term 3 – Living the Religious life

• This study area focuses on the lives of Religious leaders and founders and how religion profoundly affected the choices they made in their lives and the impact that these individuals still have on modern society as well as examining the responsibilities that religious believers have today in light of some of the issues we face in the modern world. 

Year 8

Term 1 – United in Faith 

• This area of study focuses on the attributes of God and the unifying qualities that exist across different faiths. There is then a case study of Islam and it’s core unifying beliefs. 

Term 2 – The life and teaching of Jesus Christ 

• This is a thematic approach to teaching both the events of Jesus’s life and the profound effects of his teachings that resonate beyond just Christianity but have led to him being one of the most influential figures across so many of the world’s faiths. 

Term 3 – Expressing faith

• This study area focuses on the historical leaders who have used their faith as a driving force to invoke change both socially and politically in pursuit of a better world as well as looking at how Religion has influenced a multitude of different areas across the arts from fine art to Film and music.

Year 9

Term 1 – Religion and conflict 

• This term involves a case study on Jewish History and culminates with an extended study of the holocaust from there we dovetail into a wider study of how religions rationalise the existence of suffering and alongside the existence of a beneficent God. 

Term 2 – Religion and science  

• Religion and science are odd bed fellows at best, but this term involves looking at the compatibility of the two and asks the question of whether it is one or the other or if they can be consolidated. The term also involves the study of multiple cosmological approaches both secular and non-secular. 

Term 3 – Marriage and Family 

• This term acts as a taster for the GCSE and introduces one of the thematic study areas that GCSE students will need. With a focus on the Christian perspective students study the nature of relationships, family and the issue of gender equality. 

Years 10 - 11: RPE

Students who opt for Religion, Philosophy and Ethics will follow the AQA GCSE specification. 

• Christian beliefs and practices 
• Muslim beliefs and practices
• Families and relationships 
• Life and death
• Peace and conflict
• Crime and punishment 

Students will be assessed through 2 exams which take place at the end of Year 11. 

Sixth Form: Philosophy and Ethics

At A-level, students follow the OCR specification. The course comprises of three strands:

• Philosophy
• Ethics
• Christian Philosophy

Students complete three 2 hour exams at the end of Year 13.