Religious Studies



Why do we study Religious Studies?
Religious Studies at Mangotsfield School aims to take our students on a journey to develop the curiosity of our learners to develop young people who have a desire to learn and understand more about the beliefs, values and traditions of both themselves and others. We want to challenge the thoughts they have when they arrive in our classrooms and build upon the foundations of knowledge that will take our students beyond their everyday experiences. Our classrooms should be a place where students are able to explore moral and ethical issues in safety and without the judgement of others. We want to send students into their communities with open minds ready to face the challenges of the modern and international world as well as being ready for the next stage of their learning journey.
Religious Studies… because the Big Questions need Big Answers
Meet the team
- Mrs Smith - Head of Religious Studies - Enjoys teaching Religious Studies as it allows us to explore the religions and worldviews that make up the diverse and vibrant world around us.
- Mr Symes - Classroom teacher
- Mr Taylor - Classroom teacher
- Mrs Grindley - Classroom teacher
- Mr Gilpin - Classroom teacher
- Miss Collett - Classroom teacher
- Mrs Jones - Classroom teacher
KS3 Programme of Study
Year 7
Unit 1 - Why are covenants important in Judaism?
Unit 2 - How do moral codes influence our lives?
Unit 3 - Why did the Christian Church become diverse?
Unit 4 - How can we think philosophically?
Year 8
Unit 1 - Does God exist?
Unit 2 - Why is equality important for Sikhs?
Unit 3 - What does it mean to have a non-religious worldview?
Unit 4 - How do Muslims show respect?
Unit 5 - What is Ethics?
Year 9
Unit 1 - How do Buddhists believe we can end suffering?
Unit 2 - Should we use the death penalty when we have alternative punishments?
Unit 3 - What influence does Christianity have?
Unit 4 - Spirited Arts - Annual national competition. Themes are announced in the Autumn term.
Unit 5 - The Holocaust
Course: Religious Studies
Eduqas Religious Studies Route A
Component 1 - Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World (50%)
This component covers: Relationships, Life & Death, Good & Evil and Human Rights
It is assessed by a 2 hour exam
126 marks are available (6 SPAG)
Component 1 - Study of Christianity (25%)
This component covers: Christian Beliefs and Christian Practices
It is assessed by a 1 hour exam
66 marks are available (6 SPAG marks)
Component 1 - Study of a World Faith (25%)
This component covers: Sikh Beliefs and Sikh Practices
It is assessed by a 1 hour exam
60 marks are available
GCSE Programme of Study
Unit 1 - Sikh beliefs
Unit 2 - Issues of Good and Evil
Unit 3 - Sikh practices
Unit 4 - Issues of Relationships
Unit 5 - Christian beliefs
Unit 6 - Issues of Human Rights
Unit 7 - Christian practices
Unit 8 - Issues of Life and Death
KS4 CORE - Year 10
Unit 1 - What issues are raised by war and conflict?
Unit 2 - How does belief inspire action?
Unit 3 - What does philosophy tell us about reality?
KS4 CORE - Year 11
Unit 1 - What role does ethics play in early life and end of life care?
Unit 2 - In what ways is it acceptable for humans to use and interact with animals?
Resources
KS3 - We use a range of different websites and resources as appropriate. The KS3 Religious Studies BBC Bitesize site offers a good range of key information guides and videos which support the different religious and non-religious world views studied. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zh3rkqt
GCSE
The specification for our GCSE course can be found using this link. We follow route A and study Sikhi (Sikhism) as our world faith. -
BBC Bitesize pages have been written specifically for our specification and break the course down into manageable chunks. In the first link Christianity and Sikhism are the appropriate pages and in the second the links to the Philosophy and Ethics topics under Christianity are relevant.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/examspecs/z68sjhv
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/examspecs/z3xvfcw
Other links and resources will be shared with the students as we progress through the course on Google classroom.
Homework
KS3 - Homework at KS3 is in the format of self quizzing and is part of the central homework programme.
GCSE - Homework tasks are designed to help students build up revision skills from the start of the course. Students will be directed towards a particular area of the course we have studied. They then have a menu of different revision and retrieval activities they can complete around the specified topic. As the course progresses students will have a bank of resources they can then return to for future revision tasks in preparation for assessments and exams. In the periods leading up to exams, students will be given structured revision tasks and exam practice to help prepare for sitting those papers.

