Religious Studies

Course Overview

Click on the subject for the relevant year group in the table below to find out more information about each course.

Religion and philosophy are a major source of inspiration, meaning and controversy in human culture. Religious Studies allows pupils to understand and debate a variety of worldviews, customs and traditions. It allows pupils to listen to others and to formulate their own informed conclusions to some difficult questions. Gaining religious literacy is an essential life skill, allowing pupils to become well-rounded individuals, capable of appreciating our multicultural and multi-faith society. 

Ambition for our pupils

Pupils should be able to demonstrate understanding of the beliefs, practices and core values of Christianity and five other world religions, alongside non-religious systems of thought, including Humanism. At key stage 3, pupils will explore a range of ultimate questions, which include topics such as; how did it all begin? What happens when we die? Does God exist?  At key stage 4 pupils study ethical issues, real-world case studies, and theological concepts; considering the insights of both Christianity and Islam (the two largest religions in the UK) and Humanism.

Throughout, pupils will need to be able to express abstract concepts, respectfully communicating them verbally and in written form. They will need to show tolerance towards others and their views and they will need to be open to constructive debate.

The structure of our curriculum

All pupils study Religious Studies in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10. In Years 9 and 10, they will complete a GCSE short course in RE (Ethics and Philosophy). Pupils can also choose GCSE RE as an optional subject at key stage 4.

In addition to the subject content listed above, the RE curriculum is organised around three main aspects which are revisited in each topic and across each year:

1. core knowledge and understanding of beliefs and practices; 
2. application of religious sources of wisdom and authority and how to interpret these; 
3. evaluation and analysis of perspectives on ethical, philosophical and theological issues.