Philosophy, Religion & Ethics
Curriculum
YEARS 7 AND 8
In Key Stage 3 students study philosophy, religion and ethics (PRE).
PRE allows students to question, explore and gain knowledge of the core beliefs and values of world religions, key philosophical questions and ethical topics. It allows them to develop their evaluative skills and establish informed opinions on these topics and gain informed knowledge relevant to the world they live in. PRE gives students the chance to question, be curious and debate issues and beliefs that surround them throughout their lives. PRE allows students to develop “the self” and be respectful to others who are different to them in beliefs, views and practice. It gives them the tools to be informed about the world around them.
By the end of KS3 they will know the historical context and core beliefs of the six major world religions so they have the factual knowledge needed to confront inaccuracies and misconceptions in an ever media driven world and have knowledge needed to live in a multi religious society. Ultimate philosophical questions and ethics dilemma gives students a chance to question and form opinions on moral and social matters that often impact our world.
Year 7 students study: Judaism, prejudice and discrimination, Christianity, ultimate questions, Hinduism and religion and art.
Year 8 students study: Buddhism, the problem of evil, argument for and against the existence of God, Islam, peace and conflict and the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Year 9 students study: extremism to humanism, justice and child poverty, the ethics of war, euthanasia, Sikhism and alternative religions.
GCSE
We study Edexcel syllabus. The syllabus includes the study of two major world religions examining their beliefs, philosophy and practices.
Islam – Religion, peace and conflict = core beliefs, crime and punishment, living the Muslim life and peace and conflict
Christianity – Religion and Ethics = core beliefs, marriage and the family, living the Christian life and matters of life and death
For 2019-20 the Year 10s will complete the short course GCSE which consists of the first two units of the above units.
A LEVEL YEARS 12 AND 13
At A Level students study the OCR philosophy and ethics religious studies exam board. Through the course students will analyse key ethical, philosophical and theological theories and scholars and develop their critical thinking skills. This A Level challenges students to explore the big questions in life. Does God exist? Why is there evil and suffering? What happens after death? What is a conscience? How do we make moral choices? Who is Jesus? What is human nature? The students will enjoy the challenge of investigating scholars’ work and theories and finding their own confidence to voice their opinions and debate.
Trips and Visits
As part of the PRE course we feel it is valuable for students to both learn and experience different aspects of religion therefore we have a number of trips and speaking visitors.
Year 8: Currently we invite visiting speakers to provide activities during the summer term.
Year 10/11: To prevent interruption for other GCSE subjects there are no outside visits during Key Stage 4, however, the Christian group, STEP, are invited in to discuss their views on the topics we study throughout the GCSE course.
Year 12/13: Students are encouraged to attend conferences, usually held in London.
