GCSE (Short Course)

All students in Key Stage 4 are required to take GCSE (Short Course) Religious Studies as one of their compulsory subjects by law.

At present, this curriculum area is being overhauled in line with new courses that are being taught from September 2009. From this time, year 10 students will be studying Unit 2, Religion and Life Issues from the AQA examination board. The department are very enthusiastic about this new course, and it is anticipated that our students will find the course even more challenging, interesting and relevant.

Year 11 students will continue to study Specification B (Module 3)  of the AQA examination board. Both year groups completing each syllabus are not expected to complete home learning, except in situations where the class teacher determines it is essential to the progress of students. This is mainly centered around important development of revision skills and techniques for end of unit assessments, which are graded and used as the main criteria to judge student progression, and predict attainment in the summer examination. This course has no coursework requirement, and therefore it is based 100% on examination.

Students within this Key Stage are taught in mixed ability groups as at Key Stage 3. This is given high importance by the department as the ethos of learning from peers and role models which is created by learning within a mixed ability group is more acute for students at this Key Stage.

Students examine a wide ranging syllabus that is designed to make them think strategically and analytically ay many moral and contemporary issues in today’s society. The content of the course covers such areas Religious Worships (this forms the compulsory section to the exam), Prejudice and Discrimination, Sexuality and Relationships and Animals and The Environment. At the end of each unit of work students complete a graded assessment. Students are taught the techniques needed to approach questions at this level, and over time develop this technique to a confident and competent standard, so that by the time they sit their actual exam, they are as confident as possible in their ability to do well.

Student progression is analysed and determined by their performance in these end of unit assessments, and relevant targets are set for students if any are either not at the expected standard or are showing signs of misunderstanding or a lack of motivation and effort.

GCSE (Full Course)

The Religious Studies department also offers students the opportunity to take this subject as a full option for GCSE.

Students taking this option as a GSCE subject study an additional element of the exam board specification, to attain a full GCSE. This option is growing rapidly in popularity, with over 100 students studying this at present. Year 11 students already undertaking this course study Module 4 from the same AQA specification. Year 10 students will be studying Unit 3, Religion and Morality, from the new AQA examination specification. Students undertaking this option are taught by the same teacher for both elements. It is felt that this creates greater consistency of teaching and learning for the students and teachign staff involved, aimed at increasing the possiblity of attaining high grades in the exam.

Students who take this popular option choice are taught in mixed ability groups,and receive additional teaching time on their timetable. As with short course, this is a 100% examination option, and therefore has no coursework requirement. Students choosing this route sit two exams at the end of year 11, with their overall grade being produced from the results of both exams.

GCES full course classes tend to be smaller than short course classes. This allows students to have a more pro-active approach to their learning, as well as receiving more one-to-one teaching experiences. These factors have contributed to our exceptional department value added scores and overall percentage pass rates of recent years. Student assessment occurs in the same manner as with the short course syllabus. The two syllabus areas compliment each other very postively, providing students with an enriching learning experience overall, and an astute knowledge and understanding of several key moral and contemporary issues that could impact upon their lives and the society they are part of.