Beliefs and Values

Beliefs and Values (RE) is a statutory subject that aims to promote tolerance and understanding of others through the exploration of different faiths, beliefs and traditions, as well as helping students to reflect upon their own ideas and opinions in response to ‘big questions’ and  moral issues.

Staff

Ms Z Brotherton Head of Beliefs and Values
Ms R Battishill Teacher of Belief & Values
Dr K Bawn Principal  

Year 7

In Year 7 Beliefs & Values plays a substantial role in the humanities curriculum and is delivered by humanities teachers. Students will study two religions in depth,  Sikhism and Islam. They will explore the teachings and practices of each religion.

Year 8

Year 8 is very much a foundation year for GCSE (which students begin to study in Year 9). Students learn and develop key skills such as analysis and application through the exploration of topics such as Poverty, Animal Rights and the Environment, and Myself, My world which looks at a variety of topical issues such as immigration, and racism. We end this year exploring the holocaust and its impact on modern society.

Year 9

In Year 9, all students start to study GCSE Religious Studies. Students will learn and develop key skills of debate and evaluation. Students will study two religions in depth, Buddhism and Sikhism.

At Key Stage 4 all students have the opportunity to gain a qualification in Religious Studies AQA Specification A. All students will obtain a full GCSE in this subject.

The course is examined by two exams of 1hr 45min each at the end of Year 11. There is no coursework component.

Students will study two components over the 3 years.

Component 1:The study of religions: beliefs, teachings and practices (Year 9)

Component 2: Thematic studies. In this component they will study Religion and life, Peace and Conflict, Crime and Punishment, Human rights and social justice.

At Key Stage 5, the department offers a popular A level course (OCR) studying Philosophy of Religion and Eastern Thought. Students attend two philosophy and ethics conferences each year to hear contemporary philosophers explaining and debating a variety of theories and moral issues.

All Post 16 students take part in a conference organised by the department titled ‘The Day of Evil’. Students spend the day debating and taking part in different philosophical activities as well as listening to a variety of visiting speakers, where students will debate and explore religious and secular responses to the concept of evil, and whether evil really does exist.

An exciting new addition to the Humanities Department at KS5 is the introduction of A-level Sociology from Sept 2017.

We will be following OCR specification (H580).

Students will study the following components:

Year 12 – Component 1 – Socialisation, Culture and Identity (Section A)

Component 1 – Youth Subcultures (Option 2)

Component 2 – Researching and Understanding Social Inequality

Year 13 – Component 2 – Understanding Social Inequality

Component 3 – Crime and Deviance (Option 1)

Course leader: Z Brotherton