Religion Ethics and Philosophy

We aim to provide our students with good knowledge and understanding of world religions, beliefs, practices and values.

These are related to students’ immediate environment; the media, culture, society, family and morality.

We aim to help our students develop the skills and attitudes which will allow them to be sympathetic and open minded to people and ideas available in the world community both on an intellectual level and on a spiritual level.

The RE Department also seeks to prepare students for a future in which they will make personal choices about meaning, value and religious direction in society. Students will be challenged to examine their own beliefs and values in the light of the knowledge and understanding they have developed about religious traditions.

KS3

Students will have the opportunity to study Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam. They will learn about the beliefs, communities, traditions, values, scriptures, and rituals of these religions. They will also be given the opportunity to analyse how a belief system can influence a person’s actions in the world today. Students will be given time to reflect on their own beliefs and values, whether these are religious or non-religious.

Year 7

Students begin the year with a thematic look at the major world religions, looking at beliefs, sources of authority and lead figures within the religion. Students will then take a more in depth look at the following religions: Hinduism, Christianity and Judaism. The final half term is devoted to creating an entry for the spirited art national competition. This has a different theme each year and allows students to show their own skills in any form of art, whilst reflecting on the work they have covered during year 7.

Year 8

Students are introduced to philosophy in year 8. We investigate ultimate questions, researching the thoughts of philosophers and our own views. Christianity is revisited in year 8 looking specifically at the life of Jesus. We end the year by looking at influential figures in religion. Students then work on a charity research task with the aim to raise money for a local charity.

Year 9

Students consider a range of ethical issues. Topics include animal rights, euthanasia and relationships and family. The topics are studied from the legal/medical perspective in the UK, Islam, and Christianity. Students will have the opportunity to evaluate different world views which will help them form their own opinions with valid academic reasons.

KS4

RELIGIOUS STUDIES GCSE - EXAM BOARD AQA SPECIFICATION A

GCSE Religious Studies is a popular option for students. The GCSE is divided into two papers: ‘The Study of Religion’ and ‘Themes’. Students have two exams at the end of year 11. Each exam lasts 1hour 45minutes. There is no coursework in Religious Studies.

Syllabus

Unit 1 - The Study of Religions, beliefs, teachings and practices.

In this paper students look at the beliefs, teachings and practices in two religions; Christianity and Islam.

Unit 2 - Thematic Studies - Religious, philosophical and ethical theme.

Students will study four themes.

Relationships and Family
Religion and Life
Religion, Peace and Conflict
Religion Crime and Punishment

Details of the course can be found here.

KS5

Context

Do you exist? Does anything? Can we trust our senses? How can we know anything? What is knowledge? What is a mind? How should I act? What is the purpose of life?

If you have ever thought about any of these questions, then you have already started doing philosophy. Philosophy considers the biggest questions ever asked, questions that other academic subjects cannot answer. Many of these questions have been asked by humans for thousands of years. In the Philosophy A Level, we study the answers to these questions provided by the world’s greatest philosophers and attempt to answer them ourselves.

Progress in answering these questions requires clear and rigorous thinking, sensitivity to conceptual distinctions, imagination, understanding, often a sense of humour, always a sense of wonder, a delight in discussions and listening and, crucially, the ability to think for oneself. We study the structure of arguments and use logic and reason to criticise the thoughts of philosophers, and to construct our own philosophical theories. Philosophy is an academic discipline, and to be successful you need to be a keen and perceptive reader, and have the ability to express yourself clearly through your written work. Above all, you will need an open and inquisitive mind, and a desire to untangle some complicated and important problems.

The Exam: OCR Religious Studies

The A level is divided into three parts:

Philosophy of religion
Ethics
Developments in Christian Thought

Each topic is examined. In each exam students must write 3 essays from 4 possible titles. Each exam is 2 hours in duration.

Results are consistently very good, and many students go on to study Philosophy at a higher level. Philosophy is well regarded by Russell Group universities and provides a range of transferable skills. As such, it complements the study of all other A level subjects. Philosophy is often described by students as their favourite subject, and what you learn in philosophy will stay with you forever.

For specific details of the course studied at A level click the link below: https://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/as-and-a-level/religious-studies-h173-h573-from-2016

What skills will I learn?

Lessons involve discussions and debate. They will help you gain a number of new skills:

How to think for yourself and question the norm.
How to examine information in a critical way
How to form judgements based on clear evaluation of information.
How to put your points across clearly.

What can Philosophy lead to?

Philosophy is a popular subject to study at university. It is often combined with politics and ethics. Philosophy will fine tune your reasoning so that your enhanced intellectual skills can be used in a range of careers; Law, politics, civil service, journalism, advertising, education – to name a few.

What subjects go well with Philosophy?

The simple answer is any. Philosophy has links to Religious Studies, History, English Literature and Art. However, it makes and ideal match with science and Mathematics as it involves thinking about ideas.