SUBJECT

Religious Education

KS3 Subject Intent

Over the course of KS3 we follow advice from the locally agreed syllabus to include studies that focus predominantly on Christianity with two other world faiths studied across the key stage. The curriculum is designed to develop students’ ability to evaluate concepts that are relevant to specific religions and some that apply to people who have no religion.

The religions studied focus on the beliefs and practices of religions on their way of life in Britain. The world faiths covered are Islam and Judaism. Judaism is studied because it leads into the curriculum studied at KS4. Students are exposed to specific vocabulary associated with the religion. Judaism is designed to give them an understanding of the religion that caused so much hatred during WWII which they also study in the same academic year in History. The unit also aims to develop an awareness in a Britain where anti-Semitism is on the rise. Assessments are carried out at the end of each unit, all questions are given in a GCSE style. Skills tests are designed to prepare students for the sort of extended writing that will be expected on the GCSE course.

KS4 Subject Intent

At KS4 students study OCR GCSE in RE. This is perceived as the more ambitious exam board because of the style of exam. This exam board does not include multiple choice questions and in order to score highly students are required to have an in-depth knowledge of religious texts that support their arguments. Students study beliefs and practices of both Christianity and Judaism. Judaism was selected as it is a popular worldwide religion and has close links to sources of authority taught in Christianity. It is designed to develop their awareness of a culture that is all around them yet may have limited knowledge of. The key vocabulary required to access the subject matter links directly to the concepts at KS3. They also study philosophy and ethics units covering a broad section of issues that students may face or come across during their life.

Curriculum Implementation