Curriculum : Religious Studies Staff Ms Gill – Head of Department Mr James – Advanced Skills Teacher Mr Swinton – School Chaplain Mr Knifton What is RE? Religious Education at Grey Coat gives our students important skills in the study of theology, philosophy and ethics. RE is all about learning how to ask the fundamental questions of human existence and analysing different responses to them. In Years 7, 8 and 9 these questions include ‘Who was Jesus?’, ‘How do we know?’ and ‘Why Believe?’ In Years 10 and 11, GCSE RS ranges from ‘When does life begin?’ to ‘How should we treat animals?’ to ‘What is spirituality?’ At A-level, we ask ‘Can God’s existence be proven?’, ‘Is there life after death?’ and ‘How do we know what is right and wrong?’ among other philosophical and ethical questions. Throughout their years of studying RE, our students investigate answers to these fundamental questions from a wide variety of religions and belief systems, including the different faith traditions found within the worldwide Anglican Communion. Beyond what happens in the classroom, there are many events and resources that are invaluable in helping our students succeed across all Key Stages in RE. The RE department has been instrumental in implementing innovative learning strategies, such as the ‘Philosophy for Children’ approach, across the whole school. In our latest diocesan inspection, Religious Education at Grey Coat was described as making an ‘outstanding contribution to the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of students.’ GCSE Religious Studies Grey Coat students study GCSE Religious Studies in Years 10 and 11. In Year 10, from September 2009, we will adopt the new AQA Specification B, studying Unit 2 (‘Religion and Life Issues’). In Year 11, students complete the legacy AQA Specification B Unit 4 (‘Truth, Spirituality and Contemporary Issues’) as a second GCSE short course, again with one exam at the end of the year. A-level Religious Studies At A-level, students follow Edexcel’s GCE Religious Studies, which addresses topics in the Philosophy of Religion and Religious Ethics. In March 2009, Year 13 students were given the opportunity to attend a focused revision weekend at a retreat run by a Christian charitable trust. This is something we hope to offer to all students in the future.