Religious Education
Key Stage 3
What are the knowledge and skills that students will gain over Key Stage 3?
The national requirements for Religious Education are set out in the 1944, 1988 Education Acts and section 375(3) of the 1996 Education Act.
“Every Agreed Syllabus shall reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian, whilst taking account of the teachings and practices of the other principal religions represented in Great Britain”
With this in mind, we follow the Bucks agreed syllabus.
Year 7:
Why study RE?
How do we express ourselves when words are not enough?
What guides our lives?
Does belief in God make sense?
Year 8:
Science, does it have all of the answers?
Why do Evil and suffering exist?
How do religious values and ethics influence life?
In both cases, this allows students to explore the questions from a religious and secular answer and to hopefully come up with an answer at the end of their studies.
Why is it delivered in this way?
The curriculum is designed to ensure that students develop the following skills:
- Understand the nature, role and significance of religion and belief in the world.
- Pursue their personal quest for meaning, purpose and value.
- Formulate reasoned opinion/argument and handle controversial issues and truth claims.
- Enter into meaningful dialogue with people of different beliefs and backgrounds, being able to appreciate and celebrate diversity, recognising what we hold in common and maintaining a respect for shared human values that can be experienced, expressed and responded to in diverse ways.
As Christianity is the recognised religion of the country, the agreed syllabus states that it should have more time devoted to it than the other religions taken together. With this in mind, the focus is on Christianity, but to ensure that there is a balance, other religions are explored. Students are taught thematically as prescribed by the agreed syllabus via the use of questions.
The themes are taught in this order to ensure that students understanding of religion is secure which will then allow them to build up their evaluation skills for the more complex themes in Year 8. This will then follow naturally into the GCSE course for those students who opt to take this subject at that level.
Key Stage 4
Course Title: AQA GCSE Religious Studies A 8062, AQA-8062-SP-2016.PDF
What are the knowledge and skills that students will gain over Key Stage 4?
The study of AQA Religious Education covers a range of the major world religions and six contemporary ethical themes. Students will be challenged with questions about belief, values, meaning, purpose and truth, enabling them to develop their own attitudes towards religious issues. They will gain an appreciation of how religion, philosophy and ethics form the basis of our culture. Students can expect to develop analytical and critical thinking skills and develop the ability to work with abstract ideas.
Students will:
- apply knowledge and understanding of two religions
- apply knowledge and understanding of key sources of wisdom and authority including scripture and/or sacred texts, where appropriate, which support contemporary religious faith
- understand the influence of religion on individuals, communities and societies
- understand significant common and divergent views between and/or within religions and beliefs
- apply knowledge and understanding in order to analyse questions related to religious beliefs and values
- construct well-informed and balanced arguments on matters concerned with religious beliefs and values set out in the subject content.
Why is it delivered in this way?
The study of two religions is a compulsory element set by AQA although which religions will be based on the teacher’s own specialism. The Religions studied in component 1 are split into two elements - beliefs/teachings and practices. This will allow students to have a sound understanding of what those religions teach and then how they are put into practice. It is essential that this element of the course is taught first so that students will have an understanding of how religious beliefs are put into practice and can affect how someone makes a moral decision.
For component two, students will be taught four of the six themes which include:
- Relationships and family
- Religion and life
- Religion, Peace and conflict
- Religion, crime and punishment
- Religion, human rights and social justice.
We choose which of the modules will be studied to suit the cohort of students interests.