Key Stage 3
In Years 7 to 9, your daughter will study a range of subjects. In Year 7, we are presently piloting the new non-statutory framework for Religious Studies. This is a new course of study which is based around a series of key human questions such as ‘Where do we come from?', and the course explores how these questions are answered by a variety of religious and philosophical traditions. There is a strong emphasis on student participation, good citizenship, and the use of ICT in this course of study. In Years 8 and 9, students study aspects of Christian, Islamic and Buddhist thought, and explore some areas of the philosophy of religion.
Key Stage 4
All of years 10 and 11 are entered for GCSE Religious Studies (Short Course): OCR Religious Studies B – Philosophy and Applied Ethics. This course of study comprises a range of philosophical and ethical units which are studied from the perspective of Christianity. The majority of students invariably attain an A*/A grade in this subject.
AS and A Level
Religious Studies in the Sixth Form is a very popular subject, and is studied in combination with a whole range of other subjects. It is academically rigorous, and students examine some of the ideas of the greatest minds to have ever lived. There is a great deal of space for debate and discussion, but also an explicit demand that students are willing to write essays of a sophisticated nature which reveal the ability to evaluate critically the views of others. Presently, we followed the OCR Religious Studies specification, which a clear focus on the Philosophy of Religion, and Religious Ethics. A number of students have further pursued their nascent love of this subject by pursuing it at university in a number of different academic departments.
Resources
The department is extremely well equipped, and has a significant range of written material to draw upon. We have a dedicated classroom which is decorated with religious art, and we have a substantial collection of artifacts. Recently, the department has begun to focus much more on the use of Information Technology in the classroom. We are exploring the use of a website, blogs, and podcasting as resources of learning for an increasingly technologically literate generation of young people.