Religious Studies

KS3 focuses on studying different religions before moving onto more philosophical content and ethical discussions as students progress into KS4 and 5. We are proud of the varied and diverse schemes of learning that students will explore with topics as varied as ancient Greek philosophy, animal rights and what it means to practice religion in the 21st Century.  These lessons are current, focused on world issues and cross curricular in developing students’ ability to explain knowledge, evaluate big issues and come to reasoned conclusions.  

In Year 7 the aim of RS is to encourage students to begin to evaluate the views they study. Students have two lessons over the two week timetable. They begin by looking at ‘What is religion?’ which allows them to explore what makes a religion, a religion and introduces students to key terms which will help them to discuss beliefs.  Students then have in-depth explorations of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Buddhism and Hinduism across KS3. In Year 7, students will consider how the Abrahamic religions would approach the question, “what is the right way to live life?” and consider their own responses to these ideas. In Year 7, students study eastern religions and how they would respond to the question, “what is the purpose of life?” Students will compare the different religious approaches to this question and evaluate them. In the final term of year 8, students will complete the school ‘Prevent’ program, which is part of the preventing radicalisation program that schools are required to teach to students.  

In Year 9 students have the option to take a pre-GCSE course in Religious Studies in addition to their Core lessons.

These lessons are very popular with students as they take a more philosophical approach to lessons, including ‘philosophy for children’ debates and Socratic dialogue techniques. Students will study philosophy and ethics concurrently in their 4 lessons over the two weeks and explore topics such as ‘arguments for the existence of God’ and ‘Ethics,’ which is an exploration of key normative ethical theories such as Utilitarianism and Situation Ethics. The course then progresses to explore classic philosophy from ancient Greek thinkers such as Plato and Aristotle and the Chinese philosopher Confucius to the recent French Existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre. Other topics studied include consciousness, ‘are we really free?’ and ‘can God be experienced?’ These lessons are suited to compliment students’ developing enquiry to the wider world; students love the challenge of learning new theories and new key thinkers. 

The GCSE course beings in Year 10, where the ‘Religious Studies’ course is an option subject at Leventhorpe School, with 5 lessons being taught over the two week timetable. We follow the AQA syllabus at GCSE where we explore the ‘Beliefs and Practices of Christianity and Islam’.  There are four ‘themes’ modules at GCSE that students explore; these include Religion and Life (a study of everything concerned with ‘life’ from the origin of the universe to abortion and euthanasia), Relationships and Families (an exploration of ethical issues within relationships such as marriage, divorce and LGBTI), peace and conflict, and crime and punishment. 

Further information on the AQA specification, can be accessed at: http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/resources/rs/specifications/AQA-8062-SP-2016.PDF 

The A-level course of ‘Religious Studies: Philosophy and Ethics’ is an increasingly popular subject at Leventhorpe School due to its positive standing with the Russell Group of top universities. The Russell Group has made it clear that Religious Studies A level provides ‘suitable preparation for University generally’ as it ‘enables students to acquire skills that will be prepare them for higher education or the world of work’.

This exciting and challenging course incorporates topics from Philosophy, Ethics and Developments in Religious Thought). In the two years, the course is broken down as follows: 

• Ethics – normative ethical theories, the application of ethical theory to debates about business ethics and euthanasia, ethical language and thought, debates surrounding the ideas of conscience and free will, the influence on ethical thought of developments in religious beliefs and the philosophy of religion. 

• Philosophy – ancient philosophical influences, arguments about the existence of God, the nature and validity of religious experience, the problem of evil and suffering, the nature of the soul, the possibility of life after death, ideas about the nature of God, issues in religious language. 

• Developments in Religious Thought - beliefs, teachings and ideas about human life, the world and ultimate reality, including: a study of Augustine’s teaching on human nature, a study into ideas about death and the afterlife, the origins and development of Christianity, the person of Jesus as a source of authority, the diversity of ethics and practice, including Christian moral principles and Christian moral action: the life and theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Religious pluralism and theology/society, a study of gender and theology/society, the Church in an age of revolution and the rise of secularism and secularisation. 

This course follows the OCR specification which you can access here:

OCR Specification