Religion, Philosophy & Ethics - further details

Key Stage 3

Year 7
Students start KS3 with a unit, A-Z of religion, that recaps some of the topics they might have studied at primary school and introduces them to some new topics which will be developed at KS3, KS4 and KS5. This unit aims to engage students with the diversity of issues and beliefs that are studied in RP&E. In the autumn term students go to Exeter to visit some places of worship which might include the mosque, synagogue, cathedral, Orthodox Church, Baptist Church, Roman Catholic Church. Students then move on to examine how and why people might view Jesus in different ways and how Christians might be inspired to help others in society as a result of the example and teachings of Jesus. Following this, students study Sikhism and, in particular, how Sikhs in the UK practice their faith. The final unit in year 7 explores how people might express their spirituality through art and students get the opportunity to enter a national RE and Art competition "Spirited Arts."

Year 8
In year 8 students begin by studying different non-religious views and consider why these views are becoming more popular in the UK. This unit lays a foundation for students to compare non-religious views with religious views in the following units at KS3 and KS4. Students then move on to compare how religious and non-religious people might make moral decisions as a foundation for our units which look at ethical issues. Our next unit focus on the topical issues of the environment and animal welfare, evaluating whether religious people have more responsibility to look after our planet than others. This links with the school’s ten healthy habits – creating a healthy planetv- as well as being an issue that many of our students are passionate about. Following this, we then move on to look at another ethical issue, organ donation, exploring the life of the Buddha and Buddhist teachings to consider different Buddhist responses to the issue. Our penultimate unit, evaluates "evidence” for and against life after death such as near-death experiences. Finally, we focus on the philosophical question “What is truth?” which has some links with the epistemology unit in A level Philosophy. Students conclude this unit by researching new religious movements and reflecting on how and why people might find truth in these.

Year 9
At the beginning of year 9, students consider and evaluate Christian and Buddhist responses to crime (such as knife crime) and punishment (including the death penalty). We then move on to reflect on the benefits and challenges of being a Muslim in the UK; this unit was co-written with Muslim students at TGGS. Following on from this, we look at historical and current examples of anti-Semitism and consider how it might be challenged. This lays a foundation for the study of Judaism at GCSE. Our final unit looks at relationships, reflecting on whether religion is outdated in its view of marriage; this introduces the GCSE unit “Relationships and Families”.

Key Stage 4

Students who opt for GCSE RS study AQA Religious Studies A.

The units are:

• Judaism: beliefs and practices
• Christianity: beliefs and practices
• Thematic studies: relationships and families, religion and life, the existence of God and revelation, and religion, human rights and social justice.

There are two exams at the end of year 11, each lasting 105 minutes.

In 2019 and 2018 around 50% of students achieved a level 9 in GCSE RS. 

The department regularly organises trips to Krakow and Auschwitz for students in Y11.

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