Humanities Faculty

Religious Education

In Religious Education (RE), pupils enter into a rich discourse about the religious and non-religious traditions that have shaped Great Britain and the world. RE at Sponne enables pupils to take their place within a diverse multi-religious and multi-secular society. RE is intellectually challenging and personally enriching. It affords pupils both the opportunity to see the religion and non-religion in the world, and the opportunity to make sense of their own place in that world. At Sponne, we follow the Northamptonshire Locally Agreed Syllabus and pupils enjoy learning about different cultures and beliefs.
In RE we aim to develop three types of knowledge

• Firstly, ‘substantive’ knowledge: knowledge about various religious and non-religious traditions.
• Secondly, ‘ways of knowing’: pupils learn ‘how to know’ about religion and non-religion.
• Thirdly, ‘personal knowledge’: pupils build an awareness of their own presuppositions and values about the religious and non-religious traditions they study.

Religious Education is part of the Humanities Faculty and Core RE is taught to all students in Key stages 3, 4 and 5. All pupils in key stage three will participate in one lesson a week, followed by one lesson a fortnight in key stage 4 and key stage 5 students have a dedicated RE session as part of their tutor programme.

Religious Studies GCSE is also taught as an option subject and A Level Philosophy is available for 6th form students to study.
The RE department also offers an extra curricular opportunity for years 8 and 9 in the form of a Philosophy Club. This is a popular group where students discuss key philosophical ideas and express their views towards them.

Core RE is a compulsory subject at Sponne which aims to enable students to become global citizens. However, parents/guardians do have the right to withdraw their child from Religious Education.

The current programme of study for Religious Education is as follows:

(Core RE) Key Stage 3

Year 7

• Unit 1 Christianity
• Unit 2 Judaism
• Uni2 3 Hinduism

Year 8

• Unit 1 Philosophy
• Unit 2 Islam
• Unit 3 Buddhism

(Core RE) Key Stage 4

Year 9 (Core RE)

• Unit 1 Sikhism
• Unit 2 Animal ethics
• Unit 3 Crime and punishment

Year 10 (Core RE)

• Unit 1 Abortion
• Unit 2 Peace and conflict
• Unit 3 Humanism

Year 11 (Core RE)

• Unit 1 An introduction to ethics
• Unit 2 An introduction to epistemology

• (Core RE) Key Stage 5

Year 12

Pupils will be encouraged to debate and form their own opinions on a range of different beliefs, traditions and philosophical questions.

Year 13

Pupils will gain further understanding of the six principle religions. This will enable them to understand a wide range of viewpoints and traditions. Respect, inclusion and empathy will be key features of this topic. These skills will empower all students to flourish in their future endeavours, as they will be able to confidently and respectfully engage with others.

GCSE RS Years 9,10 and 11

GCSE Religious Studies Exam board: AQA

This exam consists of two papers which are examined at the end of year 11. Each paper is worth 50% of their final grade and they are each 1 hour 45 min long.

Paper 1 will focus on Christian beliefs and practices followed by Islamic beliefs and practices.

Paper 2 will consist of questions about 4 different themes. Students will apply what they have learnt about Christian and Islamic beliefs and practices to theological and moral issues. We will focus on the following four themes:

• Religion and life

• Relationships and families

• The existence of God and revelation

• Crime and punishment

A Level Philosophy (Years 12 and 13)

A Level History Exam board: AQA

Paper 1: Epistemology and moral philosophy

This paper consists of two sections: epistemology and moral philosophy. During their studies pupils will learn about the following topics:

• What is Knowledge?

• Perception

• Reason

• Limits of Knowledge

• Utilitarianism

• Kantian Deontology

• Aristotelian Virtue Ethics

• Meta-Ethics

The exam is 3 hours long and is worth 50% of their final grade.

Paper 2: The metaphysics of God and the metaphysics of the mind

This paper focuses on the themes of the metaphysics of God and metaphysics of the mind. During their studies pupils will learn about the following topics:

• The Concept of God

• Arguments relating to the Existence of God

• Religious Language

• What do we mean by ‘mind’?

• Dualist Theories

• Physicalist Theories

• The exam is 3 hours and is worth 50% of their final grade