Religious Studies
at Bishop Perowne Church of England College
Intent
In RE our intent is to provide our students with a high-quality curriculum that enables them to become religiously literate, and to engage with questions of meaning and purpose.
Our curriculum supports the aims of the Worcestershire Locally Agreed Syllabus (2025) which are “to explore what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that pupils can gain the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to handle questions raised by religion and worldviews, reflecting on their own ideas and ways of living.”
Key Stages 3 & 4
We operate a spiral and thematic curriculum, meaning that students revisit the key skills of description, explanation, analysis and evaluation throughout every topic they study.
As a Church of England school, we take pride in equipping our students with a strong knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith. Students therefore revisit Christianity at the start of each academic year and study Christianity as one of their two faiths at GCSE.
In Years 7–9, students study modules from the Understanding Christianity syllabus. These explore core beliefs about the Trinity and Jesus in Year 7, the Prophets in Year 8, and the question ‘Should Christians be greener than everyone else?’in Year 9.
Students also study a diverse range of topics from the Worcestershire Locally Agreed Syllabus, relating to Sikhi, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and Humanism. This ensures that our knowledge-rich curriculum represents the breadth and diversity of religion and worldviews in the 21st century. Students apply what they have learnt about religious and non-religious worldviews through a study of ethics and morality in the summer term of Year 8.
In the summer term of Year 9, all students begin studying the Eduqas Route A GCSE in Religious Studies. This diverse course allows students to study the beliefs, teachings and practices of Christianity and Islam in depth, before applying this knowledge to religious, philosophical and ethical issues in the modern world. Topics include attitudes towards marriage and divorce, creation, the afterlife, crime and punishment, forgiveness, human rights, wealth and poverty, alongside many other engaging issues.
Assessment & Lessons
At Key Stage 3, students are assessed in a variety of ways. Questioning and ‘show-me boards’ are used regularly in lessons to check understanding. Students complete half-termly multiple-choice quizzes to assess core knowledge, alongside extended writing activities to assess understanding.
At the end of each topic, students complete an evaluation essay, giving them the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the topic as a whole.
At Key Stage 4, students are assessed through three examination papers at the end of the course: Religious, Philosophical and Ethical Studies in the Modern World, Christian Beliefs, Teachings and Practices and Muslim Beliefs, Teachings and Practices.
Assessment at Key Stage 4 focuses heavily on exam practice. Students complete practice exam questions during formal assessment windows twice per year and receive regular feedback on exam-style questions completed in lessons each half term. Informal assessment through questioning and the use of ‘show-me boards’ continues throughout Key Stage 4.
Enrichment & Co-curricular
In our RE lessons you will see students engaged in reflection, thoughtful discussion and respectful debate. They ponder big questions such as ‘What makes a person good?’ and ‘what is good and what is challenging about following a religion in the 21st century?”
Students develop their literacy skills through the analysis of texts and consider their meaning for religious and non-religious believers. RE is a space for students to think hard and consider the world from a range of different perspectives.
Outside of the classroom all students attend a visit to Worcester Cathedral as part of their cultural capital programme in Year 7. During the Summer Term students in Key Stage 3 will have an opportunity to enrich their curriculum further by studying a theme from the NATRE Spirited Arts Competition.
