By Law all state schools, whether Church schools or not have to teach Religious Studies and Personal/Social Skills. As a Catholic School we welcome this legal requirement and develop it further. At St Edmund’s we take an integrated approach to these study areas.

We are committed to educating each student towards becoming a responsible member of society and a worshipping member of the church. This involves developing both personal qualities and spiritual side of each person.

The RPS department upholds the idea of educating the whole person towards a life shared with Christ. We do not work in isolation in this task. Our work is supported strongly and is reinforced by the Catholic Ethos of the school and its Liturgical Life.

Year 7, 8 and 9 Key Stage 3

The RPS department at St Edmund’s uses a variety of resources to deliver the RPS Course. The two major resources that are used are Icons and The Way, The Truth and the Life. These resources are closely linked to the Curriculum directory for Catholic Schools issued by the Bishops of England and Wales. The aim of the course of study in Key Stage 3 is to promote a deeper knowledge and understanding of the Christian Faith and to develop skills required to engage in examination of and reflection upon the religious belief and practice.

The course for Key Stage 3 offers a structured, progressive and developmental programme.

Main Areas of Study

Year 7: The Word of God – God’s Call - The Sacraments – Leadership in the Church – Hinduism - Sex Education

Year 8: Creation – Covenant including Judaism – The Paschal Mystery – The Prophetic Role of the Church – Sex Education

Year 9: The Spiritual Quest including Islam – Conscience – The Holy Spirit – The Human Community - Sex Education

Key Stage 4 (Years 10 & 11)

GCSE

The OCR Syllabus papers 1, 2 and 3 are taught to the majority of Key Stage 4. Some pupils will have the option of an entry level certificate.

Paper 1: Christianity (Roman Catholic)
Paper 2: Christian perspectives on Moral, Social and World Issues (Roman Catholic)
Paper 3: Religion and the Media

Examinations:
A majority of pupils will take three exams: Paper one and two are one and half hours, while paper three is one hour. All examinations are normally taken in the summer of Year 11. A number of pupils (normally set one) will start their GCSE in Year 9 and take the exam in Year 10, They will then have the option to study for their AS in Philosophy of Religion and Religious Ethos in Year 11.

Key Stage 5

AS Level

The RPS department uses the syllabus of OCR.
The AS Level course consists of three units:

Foundation for the Study of Religion, which includes Philosophy of Religion and Religious Ethics.
Philosophy of Religion considering the Traditional arguments for God and Challenges to Religious belief.
Religious Ethics including Kant – Utilitarianism – Absolute and Relative Morality – Religious Methods versus Secular and Practical Ethics.

Each unit is weighted at 16.6%, which totals to 50%.

A2 consists of a further three units:

Philosophy of Religion: Life after death, Religious Language, Religious Experience
Religious Ethics: Freewill and determinism - Religious Ethos and Applied Ethos including War and Security and relationships.
Connections Paper: Students are required to answer two questions relating to their two year study of philosophy and Ethics and to discuss how the two courses connect with each other. The Philosophy and Ethics papers are weighted at 15%. The connection paper is weighted at 20%

Post 16 - General RE

All Sixth Form students receive one lesson a week of General RE. The course consists of modules relating to Justice and Peace, commitment and ministry, world religious, moral decisions, applied ethos, practical ethic sociology of religion, and art and religion.

Retreat Programme

Personal Studies at St Edmund’s

The RPS department deals with aspects of the requirements made by the National Curriculum concerning Personal and Social Education. This includes Education in Human Sexuality/Personal relationships and Social Issues.

ICT in RE

Video Conferencing - The RPS department is involved in a two year project involving the six catholic schools in Kent. The main objective of the project is to deliver ‘A’ Level Philosophy of Religion and Religious Ethics through the conference link

We are the only cluster of schools in the UK delivering ‘A’ level theology through video conferencing. It has been an exciting initiative and has proved a valuable teaching tool. We are continuing to develop our resource bank and to extend our links with other areas within the UK and the World. Students have found the experience to be rewarding as well as challenging.

Interactive Whiteboard - The RPS department has two interactive boards and finds them to be an excellent teaching tool. The board allows a development of different teaching styles as well as allowing pupils an opportunity to experience different aspects of learning.