Wallington High School for Girls

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		“How do I know what is true?” “Is there a god?” “What happens when I die?” “How should I live?” In Religious Studies at Wallington High School for Girls, students ask, debate and try to answer, questions of truth. The aim of Religious Studies is not to tell students what the correct answers are – if indeed there are any – but to enable them to articulate their ideas in an intelligent way.

		At Wallington High School for Girls, the six major world religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism) are all explored and students will find themselves considering and debating the important questions in their discussions and work. In Religious Studies, the secular worldview is also taught and students are introduced to post-modern thinking which denies that there is any absolute truth.

The focus, therefore, is clearly on students developing a sound understanding of how different worldviews respond to questions of truth; they should become adept at articulating the impact of beliefs on the lives of others. At the same time there is also a strong emphasis on the student evaluating and articulating their own response to the issues discussed.

Key Stage 3

In Year 7, students initially take an introduction to Religious Studies in which they explore and discuss some of the most important and challenging questions ever raised by human beings (e.g. What is truth?, Who am I?, Does God exist? etc.). For the rest of the year the students study the Abrahamic religions; Judaism, Christianity and Islam, exploring their similarities, differences and implications.

In Year 8, students study two Eastern traditions: Hinduism and Buddhism.

In Year 9, students study the Philosophy of Religion and Ethics. They look at philosophical arguments for God’s existence, the problem of evil and contemporary critiques of religion. In Ethics, they study different theories about what is right and wrong and then apply these theories to complex moral problems.

Key Stage 4

		In Key Stage 4, most students take a Short Course GCSE in Religious Studies. This follows the OCR Philosophy and Ethics course. Students learn about a range of philosophical and ethical issues and debate them from their own viewpoint. Some students opt to do a full course in which they take four further modules.

		Each of these modules will be studied from the Christian perspective and this will be compared and contrasted with Islamic, Hindu and Secular views.

Key Stage 5

At A-level, students study Philosophy of Religion and Ethics. There are four units which make up the A-level:

Unit 1:	Philosophy of Religion:	arguments for the existence of God, miracles, the problem of evil.
	Ethics:	the relationship between religion and morality, utilitarianism, situation ethics, sexual ethics, war and peace.
Unit 2:	Investigations:	students will carry out their own investigative research on an area which interests them,which will be guided by their teacher and assessed through a written examination.
Unit 3:	Philosophy of Religion:	Religious experience; Ontological argument; Non-existence of God and critiques of religious belief; Beliefs about life after death; A study of religious language.
	Ethics:	Critiques of the relationship between religion and morality; Deontology, natural moral law, virtue ethics; Meaning and definition of ethical terms with reference to 'is / ought' and debates about 'good' emotivism; Objectivity, relativism, subjectivism; Justice, law and punishment.
Unit 4:	This unit has been designed to build on the knowledge, understanding and skills developed in Units 1, 2 and 3. Students will consider, examine or discuss: the consequences of holding certain opinions, views or beliefs, including their own; how a particular belief or value could affect other people, either for good or ill; how other people's lives might be affected if a certain belief were widely held or a certain value widely applied.
	Within the context of the specification, students will consider implications in terms of how far particular beliefs and values might affect people's understanding or awareness, including their own, of: religion and human experience.
	Religion in this context may include specific religious individuals, groups or communities, or may refer more generally to the pursuit of religious or spiritual goals that are not unique to a particular religion. Human experience in this context relates to the wider experience of life that is shared by all people on the basis of their common humanity, irrespective of any religious beliefs or values that they may hold.
	This unit is assessed by an external examination of 1hr 15mins. Candidates must answer one question, which will be based on an extract from the GCE Religious Studies Anthology published by Edexcel.

Enrichment Opportunities

The Religious Studies provide a wide range of enrichment opportunities for students. For example, in Year 8, students attend a visit to a Hindu Temple and learn about the faith first hand. Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 students have the opportunity to attend a Philosophy Club during a lunchtime. The Religious Studies Department is also visited by members of faith groups who come into lessons to discuss their beliefs.

Why Religious Studies?

The Religious Studies Department is proud of all that has been achieved in the subject. Religious Studies is enjoyed by students at the school. There is a popular Short Course GCSE which achieved excellent results last Summer. This is an academically rigorous subject which enables students to engage with questions of truth from their own point of view. During the last three years, many students have gone on to take a related subject at university and students regularly secure places at Russell Group Universities.