Subject Leader:                     Mrs Baldwin

Deputy Subject Leader:      Mrs C Cross

RE Teachers:                           Mr Ford, Mr Franke, Mrs Franke,  Ms Lock, Mr Kirwan & Mrs Papanastasiou 

Website:                                  St Wilfrid's Catholic School - Religious Education

 

Overview

Religious Education at St Wilfrid’s is an invitation to students to enquire, question and explore. We have a dynamic and innovative programme of study covering Catholicism in depth and other world religions such as Islam and Judaism. Students find the courses exciting and enriching, and value the opportunity to ask and explore fundamental questions about existence, how we live our life day to day and of course what might happen after death. Every classroom is a safe and secure environment in which students have the opportunity to explore their faith and other people’s and engage in a journey of exploration and discovery.

 

Key Stage 3

During Key Stage 3 we provide an exciting and engaging programme in which students can engage with fundamental questions of existence and meaning through Christianity in particular but also Islam, Hinduism and Judaism.

“I came that they might have life, and have it to the full”

John 10:10

In Year 7 we start the year with a welcome module considering the communities we belong to, Prayer and reflection and being to explore elements of the Bible. We then being to explore the roots of Christianity by looking at the Old Testament and Judaism. We the explore the Life of Jesus, key events in his life but also key teachings that have played a fundamental role in the foundation of the early church. The journey then continues by looking at how the faith we have established in Christ in put in to action in the world today. 

 

“I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Exodus 3:6

Year 8 begins by now exploring different faiths of the world and the impact their faith has on them. This enables students to have a wider understanding of the world and people around them. To continue this theme of exploring the world around them we look at how we care for our common home. This cover the important role of stewardship and how they and other can carry this role out.  As part of the year we also cover a programme of RSE which looks at different relationships from a Catholic perspective. The year concludes by looking at an ethics module which allows the students to investigate some of those big questions surrounding morality such as ‘What is good?’.

“Love is the Fundamental and Innate vocation of the human person”

Pope St John Paul II

Year 9 will start with exploring the theme of human rights and dignity providing some essential teachings before we move on to start the GCSE course. We start the GCSE early due to the nature and demands of the new course. Having the GCSE over three years will allow for us not only to cover the content that is required but spend time working on the necessary exam skills they will need. The outline of what we study is below.

 

Key Stage 4

Year 10 and 11

At GCSE we study the Edexcel Religious Studies A course in which they will sit three exams. The first paper focuses on Catholic Christianity looking at key beliefs and practices as well as considering forms of expression including religious art and music. The second paper focuses on Islam and key beliefs and practices and then the third focuses on Philosophical or Ethical themes. Paper 1 is worth 50% of the whole GCSE and the other two count as 25% each and all are sat in the summer term of Year 11. Together they form the whole GCSE grade, and form a good foundation for A Level Philosophy and Ethics, which is offered in the Sixth Form.

 

Key Stage 5

Spiritual Development is an opportunity for students to continue their social, spiritual and moral development. All students who come to St Wilfrid’s Sixth form take part and choose and particular strand to follow during that year. In the past strands have typically included the opportunity for social action and fundraising, course to explore moral and philosophical issues such as what happens after death. We have also re-established the SVP group within the Spiritual development programme giving many students to volunteer with our local community.

 

A Level - Philosophy and Ethics

This is a popular course in St Wilfrid's Sixth Form, Philosophy and Ethics explores a variety of issues and topics from “Can you prove God’s existence or for that matter your own?” to “Can Euthanasia be a good thing?”. Students engage with philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle from as far back as ancient Greece up to modern day philosophers such as Richard Swinburne and Peter Kreeft. They go on a rigorous and evaluative journey where they must learn how to think, reason, argue and communicate in a logical and coherent way. The new course also covers Developments in Christian thoughts which over the two years will give students the opportunity to explore religious beliefs and values and how they have historically developed. There are great discussions in lessons and great opportunities for independent learning and further research. We follow the OCR course in Philosophy and Ethics which is 100% exam with three exams at the end of Year 13.