The Religious Studies department at St. Francis College aims to encourage reflection on the religious and philosophical issues of life. We aim to explore the mysteries of human existence and challenge our students to seek answers to the mysteries of life and death. We encourage respect for all religious and non-religious beliefs and aim to foster an environment in which everyone feels valued.
At St. Francis’ College we encourage our students to engage with contemporary issues and develop social, cultural, political and historical awareness. Through discussion and debate we seek to show that religion plays an important role in our society. Our small class sizes mean that teachers know their students very well and can give them individual help in order to achieve their true potential.
Curriculum Overview
In Years 7 and 8 we spend approximately a term on each of the six major world religions. Judaism, Christianity and Islam in Year 7, and Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism in Year 8. Students study the central beliefs and practices of each religion. There are visits to places of worship for both Years 7 and 8, and an opportunity to see how the religion makes can make a difference to the lives of believers. In Year 9 we look at a variety of philosophical and ethical issues. These include ethical theories, medical and applied ethics, women in religion, anti-racist RE, arguments for the existence of God and the problem of evil.
GCSE Religious Studies is available as an option subject in Years 10 and 11. We follow the AQA course and study Christianity and Buddhism as well as various philosophical and ethical themes, including ‘Religion and Life’ and ‘Relationships and Families’. These are studied from a multi-faith perspective, ensuring that students develop a broad understanding of the role of religion in today’s world.
At A Level we follow the OCR course which includes the study of the Philosophy of Religion, Ethics and Religion and Developments in Christian Thought.