:: Welcome to the RE Department ::

About

Religious Education is not just about religions and their beliefs and practices. It is also very much about exploring our own beliefs and values and considering some of life’s challenging and thought-provoking questions. In short, it’s about being a member of the human race.

The RE we deliver at Winifred Holtby School is designed to engage students, to help nurture their own sense of awe and wonder and to develop some of the key skills which are useful right across the curriculum. High level thinking skills, such a evaluation and creativity, and ‘human’ skills, such as empathy, communication and exploration, play a large role in our syllabus.

Year 7

The RE curriculum in Year 7 is designed to build on work done at key stage 2 and, In line with the new curriculum, is theme based. Pupils start their exploration of religious and philosophical issues through considering whether or not God exists and, if so, what this God might be like. This is done through examination of key Christian and Hindu beliefs and concepts. We also consider the nature of ultimate questions and encourage pupils to create their own ‘ultimate’ ultimate question and suggest answers to them.

During the Spring term, pupils explore the concept of worship; both secular and religious. We look at what happens when a large group of people express common emotions at, for example, football matches and rock concerts, and then delve into three very different forms of Christian worship: Roman Catholic, The Salvation Army and The Quakers. This allows us to consider concepts such as sin and salvation; the issue of homelessness and the beauty of silence!

The final term in Year 7 focuses on environmental issues, where we ask questions such as, ‘Do we have a duty to care for the planet?’ and, ‘If so, why?’ Christianity and Islam provide us with some valuable insights and food for thought.

Year 8

Year 8 begins with a study of rites of passage. We concentrate on Jewish and Hindu rites and compare these with each other and with our own experiences. Pupils get to create their own coming of age ceremony, including rituals and forms of initiation.

The second unit in Year 8 requires pupils to consider reasons why Christians might see Jesus as a Super-Hero. We compare Jesus with super-heroes from popular culture; such as Super Man and Spider Man; we also ask, 'What would happen if Jesus came to Hull?'

The final term in Year 8 is dedicated to an investigation of crime and punishment. The main focus is on the ultimate question, ’How valuable is a human life?’ We look at a whole host of punishments; from community service to capital punishment. Pupils consider their own beliefs and values alongside those of Christians, Muslims and Humanists.

Year 9

In Year 9, our students start working on the GCSE Philosophy and Applied Ethics course. We have chosen to do this because there are overlaps between this new course and our previous Year 9 curriculum. We also believe that it is important for all of our students to have the opportunity to take a full Religious Studies GCSE, and this method allows us to do that. Please see the Key Stage 4 information for further details.

Key Stage 4

From September, 2009, all of our students will follow the OCR Full Course GCSE in Philosophy and Applied Ethics. This course encompasses six Philosophy units and six Applied Ethics units. These are: Belief about Deity; Religious and Spiritual Experience; The End of Life; Good and Evil; Religion, Reason & Revelation; Religion and Science; Religion and Human Relationships; Religion and Medical Ethics; Religion, Poverty and Wealth; Religion, Peace and Justice; Religion and Equality and Religion and the Media. We focus on Christian and secular beliefs and responses to each of these areas and the course is designed to appeal to theists and atheists alike.

All of our students will sit the first part of the examination in Year 10 (short course GCSE), with the option of sitting a second exam in Year 11. This second exam will enable students to achieve a full course GCSE qualification. In previous years, the Full Course has proven to be the most successful when it comes to getting those A* - Cs!