Key Stage 3 - Religious Education

The Religious Education course will:

• provide opportunities for all pupils to learn and to achieve
• promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development and to prepare all pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities, and experiences of the present and the future
• Religious education contributes dynamically to children and young people’s education in schools by provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God, ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human
• In RE pupils learn about religions and beliefs in local, national, and global contexts, to discover, explore and consider different answers to these questions
• They learn to weigh up the value of wisdomfrom different sources, to develop and express their insights in response, and to agree or disagree respectfully
• RE teaching therefore should equip pupils with systematic knowledge and understanding of a range of religions and beliefs, enabling them to develop their ideas, values, and identities
• It should develop in pupils an aptitude for dialogue so that they can develop religious literacy and participate positively in our society, with its diverse religions and beliefs
• Pupils should gain and deploy the skills needed to understand, interpret, and evaluate texts, sources of wisdom and authority and other evidence. They should learn to articulate clearly and coherently their personal beliefs, ideas, values, and experiences while respecting the right of others to differ.

Student progress is measured by both formative and summative assessments. Formative assessments take place regularly and in a variety of formats ranging from group discussions and collaboration, written tasks, quizzes, and presentations. Students complete one summative assessment each half-term in which they are required to demonstrate their understanding of a topic by completing a test, creating a product or presenting an enquiry process, evaluation and conclusion.

• Alternative Religions – e.g. Amish; Jehovah Witnesses; Illuminati; Humanism; Atheism etc
• Philosophy and Ethics
• Looking for God
• Suffering and Evil
• Jesus: Man or Messiah?
• Myths and Legends