“To study religion is not only to arrive at answers, but also to ask better questions”.

On the 30^th November a representative of the British Army will be giving a lecture to Sixth Form students, and those in years 10 and 11 undertaking Religious Studies.

Year’s 5,7 and 9 all enjoyed a half day conference thinking Philosophically. Under the guidance of our outside speaker, Roger Sutcliffe from Philosophy for Children, Warminster pupils were encouraged to develop a number of ideas. They were asked to consider questions ranging from ‘What is philosophy?’ to ‘What would it be like to live forever?’. The day also raised the question ‘Who’s responsibility is learning? ‘. Students were given the space to think deeply about these issues and then defend their views. The workshop enabled pupils to focus upon larger questions in life and develop skills outside of the classroom that would be transferable across a number of different subjects. Most importantly students began to appreciate that often there is no one answer, simply being able to have to space to think about the issues is enough.

If you are interested in learning more about how Philosophy for Children compliments the curriculum the web address is - http://www.philosophy4children.co.uk/

KS3

Years 7-8 focus upon “What’s RE got to do with me?” They seek answers to questions relating to the meaning of the term ‘religious’, why people believe in God or gods at all and what the different kinds of knowledge and truth are. We also study the relationship that religion has to a variety of other academic disciplines, such as science, history and psychology.

Year 9 asks pupils to consider how religion affects their relationships with others and the choices that they make. They study questions of morality, equality, human rights, war and terrorism. Pupils are encouraged to have an awareness of current affairs and make connections with other academic disciplines. They are encouraged to view the subject of religion with an interconnected focus, not seeing it in isolation from life.

As well as encouraging pupils to have open enquiring minds it is also important that they are able to structure their thinking logically and effectively in the written word. Interwoven through their study in years 7 to 9 pupils will be developing core English skills with particular focus upon writing balanced, well structured arguments that present more than one point of view. Comprehension, close reading and summarizing are also skills that are concentrated upon. As a department we aim to equip our students with a variety of tools that will transfer easily to other subjects.

KS4 GCSE

GCSE comprises of Philosophy of Religion and Applied Ethics. Pupils are entered for the OCR B Full course GCSE at the end of two years.

Through the lens of Christianity students begin by considering issues such as the nature of God, religious and spiritual experience, the end of life, good and evil, and religion and science. They move on to study ethics with relation to war and peace, medial ethics, poverty, justice and human relationships. In lessons students are expected to be able to discuss, question and challenge a wide range of issues. They are encouraged to build upon the skills taught lower down the school with reference to writing well balanced, well supported arguments. Through their study pupils will learn about diversity within Christianity and the ways in which those who follow the religion are affected in their everyday lives.

AS/2 Level

Universities and employers recognize the value of Religious Studies as an academic discipline as it offers pupils the chance to develop their critical thinking and evaluative skills. It is an essay based subject, thus enabling students to develop their abilities to articulate their thoughts and produce structured well argued responses. Students divide their time between the Philosophy of Religion and Moral Philosophy. The course allows students to develop some of the thinking they may have begun in the GCSE (although a GCSE in RE is not a requirement).