Introduction

Religious Education has a unique place at the St Lawrence academy and all students study RE in their five years with us. It is our belief that all students should have access to the same broad, balanced, relevant and ambitious curriculum, within which every child can find expression and flourish.

Through our Religious Education curriculum we aim to develop our students’ knowledge and understanding of Christianity and other religious and non religious world views as living, diverse and changing beliefs, whilst considering how these belief systems influence the way people live their lives and impact on the decisions individuals and society make.

We aim to provide a safe space for discussion, for students to reflect on and challenge their own and each others ideas and experiences, and to provide opportunities for spiritual development whilst developing the key skills of critical thinking, investigation and enquiry, analysis, interpretation, empathy, evaluation, communication, independent learning and religious literacy. By doing this we hope to help prepare students for adult life, developing respect for others, contributing to their local communities and wider society.

“Education, above all, is to know the joy of wondering about life, not having ready made answers for everything”. Sadhguru

KS3

At Key Stage Three we offer a sequential, ambitious and academic learning program of Religious Education based on the Lincoln Diocese Agreed Syllabus, with spiralled learning of theology, philosophy and social sciences. All students receive 1 hour of RE in year 7 and then 2 hours a week in each subsequent year.

As a Church of England School our KS3 units ensure that at least 50% of teaching time focuses on teaching Christianity as a living faith and as a unique and diverse religion. We also offer our students the opportunity to develop meaningful knowledge of other worldviews (both religious and non religious), and focus on Hinduism and Islam in greater depth.

We adopt a thematic approach to delivering our curriculum, which builds throughout key stage 3. In Year 7 the units focus on belief and non-belief in God, starting with what religious belief is, when the concept of religion started, and the shift from animism to monotheistic faiths. This then leads onto philosophical ideas about God including atheist and theist arguments for belief in God, to finally looking at theological teachings about God from three different religions ( Christianity, Islam and Hinduism).

In year 8 students then apply their understanding to look at how religious and nonreligious world views demonstrate their faith. This develops their theological understanding of our three main religions looking at concepts such as sacraments in Christianity, The Five Pillars in Islam and festivals and pilgrimages in Hinduism. In our philosophy unit we build on the work done in year seven to look at a range of philosophers and how their theories link to religious and non religious worldviews, as well as a unit looking at how members of different communities have demonstrated their faith by standing up against prejudice, discrimination and injustice. To offer more breadth into the curriculum, the students also learn about Sikh Dharma to reflect our growing local Sikh community.

In year 9 our curriculum develops to focus on worldviews within the community, looking at differences both locally and on a wider scale. Again our focus is on our chosen three religions. In Christianity we look at worship in different denominations as well as how they work in the community through organisations, charities and pilgrimages. In Islam we look in more depth about the differences and similarities between Sunni and Shia Muslims and the concept of the ummah. In Hinduism we build on their knowledge of karma, dharma and samsara and how different rites of passage demonstrate these theological ideas. At the end of year nine we study a unit on Crime and Punishment and how religious beliefs influence individuals around these themes.

These units and their spiralled sequencing allows our students to be prepared to tackle the GCSE course that we then offer at Key Stage Four.

KS4

All students follow AQA GCSE Religious Studies A throughout key stage 4, which comprises two components.

Component 1 focuses on the Beliefs, Teachings and Practices of two religions, for most of our students this is Christianity and Islam. However there is room for alternative religions to be studied if this is your religion practised at home. This paper develops the knowledge of theology and social studies started in key stage three; looking at core beliefs, sources of authority, life after death, worship, celebrations of faith, charity and persecution.

Component 2 is a thematic paper, where our students study 4 units out of a possible 6. The units we study are; Theme A Relationships and Family, Theme B Religion and Life Issues, Theme D Religion, Peace and Conflict and Theme E Crime and Punishment. These units allow our students to demonstrate and apply their understanding on a range of contemporary issues.

 

Careers

Studying Religious Education allows our students to explore how religious beliefs and practices shape and influence the world we live in while learning transferable skills. Religious Studies provides the perfect foundation of knowledge for a variety of future study pathways and careers including work in:

  • The NHS
  • Teaching
  • The civil service
  • Youth and Social Work
  • Advertising
  • Investment and Banking
  • Law
  • Politics
  • The creative industries
  • The charity sector
  • Publishing
  • Journalism