Religious Studies

The Religious Studies Department at St Mary’s provides an inspiring curriculum that:

• Develops a coherent understanding of the Catholic faith and an appreciation of the spiritual, cultural and moral diversity within the world.

• Serves the needs of all students challenging them to think critically and excel academically.

• Gives students the opportunity to think about who they are and what they stand for preparing them to become resilient, respectful and active citizens.

Religious Studies is a core subject within St Mary’s curriculum meaning that all students will participate in lessons.

Key Stage 3

There is no national curriculum for Religious Studies at KS3, however, Catholic Schools are expected to follow the Curriculum Directory (as set down by the Bishops of England and Wales). As such, our programmes of study are bespoke and have been created to give students a coherent understanding of Catholicism and other world faiths and belief systems.
Year 7 · Beliefs about human beings · Beliefs about Jesus · Sacraments · Lent and Forgiveness · Hinduism	Year 8 · Beliefs about God · Moses and Passover · The Kingdom of God · Mass · Islam	Year 9 · Revelation · Vocation · The nature and role of the Church · Judaism

Key Stage 4

At Key Stage 4 we follow the Eduqas Route B Religious Studies GCSE specification. This entails teaching 75% content on Catholic Christianity and 25% content on Judaism (as directed by the Bishop of Hallam). Students will not complete any coursework but will sit three separate examination papers at the end of Year 11. As a Core subject, all students will take the Religious Studies GCSE.
For further details please visit: http://www.eduqas.co.uk/religiousstudies

Year 10
• Jewish Beliefs and Practices
• Foundational Catholic Theology- Origins and Meaning and Good and Evil

Year 11
• Applied Catholic Theology- Life and Death and Sin and Forgiveness

Key Stage 5

A-Level Religious Studies
At Key Stage 5 we follow the Eduqas Religious Studies A Level specification. Students are taught 3 different areas of study across the two year course; Philosophy of Religion, Religion and Ethics and Christian Theology.
Students will cover a range of topics including Arguments for the existence of God, challenges to religious belief, religious experience, Natural Law, Utilitarianism, the Eucharist and Feminist and Liberation Theology.
At the end of Year 13 students will sit three examination papers where they will answer AO1 questions (knowledge and understanding) and AO2 questions (analysis and evaluation).

For further details please visit: http://www.eduqas.co.uk/religiousstudies

Religion and Life
Students who do not take the A-level will study our Religion and Life course.
This course is designed by us and allows students to engage with a diverse range of contemporary issues. This includes racism, sexism, capital punishment, cults, life after death, cloning and nanotechnology, reproductive technologies, consumerism and war. Engaging with such issues will allow them to develop vital “ soft skills” such as communication, creative thinking and problem solving.

For further information about the Religious Studies curriculum, please contact:
Miss H Loxley- Head of Religious Studies.