KEY STAGE 3 RELIGIOUS STUDIES
At TWGGS, we have developed a Religious Studies curriculum which we believe gives pupils the best chance of engaging with religions and understanding their role in the world community. We present students with the spectrum of world faiths in the expectation that they will engage with ultimate questions of value and meaning. At the end of Key Stage 3, we would expect a TWGGS pupil to have a good knowledge of the major world religions, to understand how those religions affect people’s lifestyles (for better and for worse), and to be able to deliver sensitive but robust evaluations of those religions.
In years 7, 8 and 9, pupils get two one hour lessons a fortnight and 30 minutes of homework per week. There are three Religious Studies classrooms and two full-time teachers. The department is well resourced and pupils enjoy their lessons. The syllabus for Key Stage 3 looks like the table below.
Each of the starred* modules is assessed by the TWGGS internal examination for that year. The content of the pupils’ learning is contained in three in-house produced revision booklets of about thirty A4 pages each. Comfortably in advance of the examination, pupils will be given the booklets to take home. After the examination, they will return them to the department.
‘Stillness and Reflection’ in Year 7 is an experiential module, the aim of which is to ‘get inside’ certain generic modes of religious or spiritual experience. Assessment here has to do with how well students participate and offer feedback in their exercise books and discussion.
‘Christianity’ and ‘Christian Ethics’ in Years 7 and 8 serve as a foundation to GCSE, where all pupils will do a full GCSE covering Christian Perspectives on Moral and Social Issues (as well as Islam).
It is a major part of its aims/objectives, that RS should promote tolerance, acceptance of other people’s viewpoints, and understanding of other people’s culture, race, belief and faith.
The Skills We Aim to Develop
At TWGGS, we have developed a Religious Studies curriculum which we believe gives pupils the best chance of engaging with religions and understanding their role in the world community. We present students with the spectrum of world faiths in the expectation that they will engage with ultimate questions of value and meaning. At the end of Key Stage 3, we would expect a TWGGS pupil to have a good knowledge of the major world religions, to understand how those religions affect people’s lifestyles (for better and for worse), and to be able to deliver sensitive but robust evaluations of those religions.
In years 7, 8 and 9, pupils get two one hour lessons a fortnight and 30 minutes of homework per week. There are three Religious Studies classrooms and two full-time teachers. The department is well resourced and pupils enjoy their lessons. The syllabus for Key Stage 3 looks like the table below.
| Terms 1 & 2 | Terms 3 & 4 | Terms 5 & 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 7 | Understanding Jesus* | Hinduism* | Stillness & Reflection |
| Year 8 | The Bible | Buddhism* | Christianity |
| Year 9 | Judaism* | Sikhism* | Christian Ethics |
The Skills We Aim to Develop
- SKILL 1: The ability to recall, select, organise and deploy the knowledge covered in the course content.
- SKILL 2: The ability to describe, analyse and explain the relevance and application of an idea in religion, or about religion, or of a religion or religions. This is demonstrating understanding.
- SKILL 3: The ability to evaluate different responses to religious, philosophical and moral issues, using relevant evidence and argument.
Also see related pages: Academic Curriculum