Curriculum
Key Stage Three
Key Stage 3 students will study the major world religions and a variety of ethical and philosophical issues including through the lens of community and influence. Throughout Key Stage 3 students will look at religious viewpoints on issues and evaluate them in light of their own understanding of the world. Students study 3 units a year and complete an assessment at the end of each unit, these take a variety of different forms including written assessments and creative assessments.
Year 7 – Religion and Community
Introduction to Philosophy & Ethics
Personal Virtues and Rules
Community and Promises; Khalsa & Covenant
Global Community; Creation and the Environment
Year 8 – Religion and Influence
Ultimate Questions; Life and Death
Abrahamic religions
Beyond the Big 6; New Religious Movements
Year 9 – Religion in Modern Life
Influence and Actions; People who have changed the world
Peace and Conflict in the modern world
Medical Ethics; Abortion, Euthanasia and more
Key Stage Four
Students can opt to complete GCSE. We follow the EdExcel B specification:
Christianity & Ethics
Islam, Peace & Conflict
The topics studied include:
- Christianity (including the importance of Jesus and the Trinity)
- Relationships and Family (including sex, marriage and divorce)
- Matters of Life (including abortion and euthanasia)
- Christianity and Worship (including festivals and the role of the Church in the local and worldwide community)
- Muslim Beliefs (including Sunni and Shia Islam, the importance of Prophethood and the oneness of Allah)
- Islam and Worship (including the Five Pillars of Islam and Muslim festivals)
- Peace and Conflict (including violence, WMD and pacifism)
- Crime and Punishment (including good, evil justice and punishment)
The assessment will be 2 x 1 ¾ hour exams at the end of the course.
All students also have one lesson a fortnight of ‘Cultural Respect and Responsibility’ where they will study a variety of pertinent big questions.
This lesson will not be examined and there is no formal qualification.
Key Stage Five
At Key Stage 5 students study the AQA Philosophy and Ethics A Level. The course is split into two components.
Component One: Philosophy and Ethics
- Arguments for the existence of God
- Evil and suffering
- Religious experience
- Religious language
- Miracles
- Self and life after death
- Ethical theories
- Issues of human life and death
- Issues of animal life and death
- Introduction to meta ethics
- Free will and moral responsibility
- Conscience
- Bentham and Kant.
Component Two: Study of Christianity
Section A: Study of Christianity
- Sources of wisdom and authority
- God/gods/ultimate reality
- Self, death and the afterlife
- Good conduct and key moral principles
- Expression of religious identity
- Religion, gender and sexuality
- Religion and science
- Religion and secularisation
- Religion and religious pluralism
Section B: The dialogue between philosophy of religion and religion
- How religion is influenced by, and has an influence on, philosophy of religion in relation to the issues studied.
Section C: The dialogue between ethical studies and religion.
- How religion is influenced by, and has an influence on, ethical studies in relation to the issues studied.
Each component is worth 50% of the A Level and is assessed in a 3-hour exam.
Enrichment
In order to continue to further your education in P&E see if you can visit a variety of places of worship and keep up to date on Religious news in the world.
Careers
- Public Sector jobs including social worker, police officer and teacher
- Charity Officer
- Medical Profession (dealing with ethics)
- International Aid/ Development worker
- Counsellor
- Youth Officer
- PR Manager
Staff
- Miss Carly Watkins – Head of Department
- Mr Rob Findon – Teacher of P&E; Head of Year 11; DofE Award Coordinator
Links
http://www.alevelphilosophy.co.uk/
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/re
You have a legal right to withdraw your child from Philosophy and Ethics but please note that you will be expected to provide work for your child of a spiritual nature during this time. This time should not be seen as an opportunity for your child to ‘catch up’ on other work (please see the ‘Right to Withdraw Policy based on guidance provided by Hertfordshire County Council Sacre).