CHRISTOPHER WHITEHEAD
LANGUAGE COLLEGE AND SIXTH FORM
Welcome to Religious Studies
Mrs G Coley
Teacher of Religious Studies
Teacher of Values and Ethics
- g.coley@cwlc.email
Mr S Barratt
Ethics
- s.barratt@cwlc.email
Miss B Woods
- b.woods@cwlc.email
Mrs L Poyser
- l.poyser@cwlc.email
The principle aim of Religious Studies is to explore the big questions about life, to find out what people believe and what differences this makes to how they live. RS helps students to make sense of their own ideas and ways of living.
Religious Studies at Christopher Whitehead Language College and Sixth Form is a mandatory subject that seeks to encourage students to develop their knowledge and understanding of different religious and non-religious beliefs and reflect on their own personal values.
Our ‘Religion and Worldviews’ curriculum is concerned with people’s beliefs, their religious practices, and what beliefs mean for people’s way of living and behaviour. We focus on the three disciplines of theology, sociology, and philosophy, which develops students knowledge of religious traditions, understanding that we all have different worldviews, and reflecting on what this means for people’s lives and how the can relate that to their own personal worldviews. We encourage students to think things through for themselves, discover their own opinions and be able to communicate their knowledge and understanding thoughtfully. We want students to leave lessons wanting to know more, their heads full of questions and excited about their next lesson.
At KS3 we follow the Worcestershire agreed syllabus.
Year 7 begins with an introduction to religion and worldviews. Followed by:
What is so radical about Jesus?
Religion in the UK: Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism,
Should happiness be the purpose of life?
The Buddha: how and why does his teachings have meaning for people today?
Year 8
Does the world need prophets today?
Why are people good and bad?
Good, bad, right and wrong, how do I decide?
What difference does it make to be an atheist/agnostic in Britain today?
How far does it make a difference if you believe in life after death?
NATRE Spirited Arts project
Year 9
Who is God?
Why is there suffering?
Should Christians be greener than everyone else?
Are humans more important than animals?
What do people do when life gets hard?
What wisdom did famous philosophers contribute to today’s human thinking?
At GCSE students can choose Religious Studies as an option.
Our GCSE course is the AQA Specification A. We study the beliefs and practices from Christianity and Islam. We then continue to look at four topical themes; Religion and Life, Religion, Peace & Conflict, Religion, Crime and Punishment, and Religion, Human Rights and Social justice. Within these themes we engage in debate on religious and secular views.
In addition to the optional GCSE, statutory RS is delivered through their PSHE lessons, with a focus in Year 10 on Culture and Diversity and in Year 11 Human Rights and Social Justice.
