Religious Education Department

St Edmund’s Catholic School has a distinctive character as a Catholic Christian Community and the RE Department is at the heart of this Community, both academically and culturally.

Close links are maintained with the Chaplaincy. RE is a core curriculum subject up to GCSE level. 

At Key Stage 3 the Icons programme is now well established and pupils engage in varied learning activities.  These include role-plays, group presentations, debates, ITC presentations, artistic reflection, song writing and performance.  There are strong links with the LLRC and pupils have many opportunities to develop their independent research skills. Year 7 pupils are introduced to St John’s Cathedral early in the autumn term and explore the building in detail familiarizing themselves with our local place of worship.

At Key Stage 4 all pupils follow the WJEC GCSE in Religious Studied Specification B. This consists of a thematic study of Christianity and Islam exploring such topics as relationships medical ethics and matters of life and death.

Year 10 pupils take part in the Portsmouth RE Schools Conference in July, where they have the opportunity to investigate a broad spectrum of issues with representatives from faith communities, charities and campaigning organisation.

The Course

In a Catholic school we believe that God is the foundation and source of all knowledge and understanding, this is why Religious Studies is compulsory at GCSE for all pupils.

The syllabus we have chosen is intended to be accessible to pupils of all abilities and provides a broad structure for the study of belief and practice of living religion.

The course is designed to allow pupils to develop knowledge and understanding of the beliefs, values and traditions of Christianity and of another religion, Islam, and gives opportunities for them to consider and reflect on their own and others responses to moral issues.

The areas of study are:

Option A.

Unit 1:    Relationships: Issues of love marriage and divorce.

Unit 2:    Is it Fair? Issues of justice and equality.

Unit 3:    Looking for meaning: Issues about God, life and death.

Unit 4:    Identity and Belonging: Issues of choice, personal and corporate identity.

Coursework:         Our World: Exploring creation and our place in the world.

Option B.

Unit 1:    Religion and Conflict: Issues of war, violence and peace.

Unit 2:     Religion and Medicine: Issues of medical ethics and the sanctity of life.

Unit 3:    Religious expression: Issues of expressing one’s faith.

Unit 4:    Authority – Religion and State: Issues of law and order in religion and society.

Coursework:         Suffering and Evil: Issues of suffering, the concept of evil and life after death.

Each piece of coursework comprises of three questions which need to be answered in essay form. The total word count for each coursework should be around 1500 words.