Religious Studies

Faculty Leader

Mrs N. Sweetman – Head of Faculty RE

Staff

Mrs D Farrell – Assistant Head of Faculty

Mrs R Bennett – Teacher of RE

Mrs J Kesterlian – Teacher of RE & PSHCE Co-Ordinator

Curriculum

Religious Education at Corpus Christi Catholic College is taught according to the requirements of the Curriculum Directory for Catholic Schools.

KS3

Students in Year 7 and 8 have 5 periods of Religious Education per fortnight (10% of curriculum time). These students follow schemes of learning based on the Catholic Curriculum Directory.

	Unit 1	Unit 2	Unit 3	Unit 4
Year 7	Corpus Christi	God’s Creation	The Sacraments	Judaism
Year 8	The Nature of God	Discipleship	Social Justice	World Faiths

Year 7

Unit 1: Corpus Christi

This unit introduces students to the Catholic life at Corpus Christi Catholic College and the key skills they will need to be successful in their study of Religious Education.

Unit 2: God’s Creation

This unit allow pupils to explore different Christian beliefs about creation, the relationship between science and religion and our own responsibility to be stewards of creation. They also study the sanctity of life, the Golden Rule and issues surrounding human dignity.

Unit 3: The Sacraments

This unit gives pupils an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the sacraments of initiation and vocation and how the impact the lives of Catholics today. They also investigate pilgrimage to Lourdes and it’s connection with the sick.

Unit 4: Judaism

This unit gives students a wide knowledge of the Jewish faith (they will study Judaism for 25% of their GCSE RE) including; key beliefs and teachings, scripture, food laws, the synagogue and the Holocaust

Year 8

Unit 1: The Nature of God

This unit takes an in depth look at Christian teaching on the Trinity. The students also consider Christian and non-Christian evidence for the existence of Jesus and the role of the Trinity in the life of Christians today.

Unit 2: Discipleship

This unit allow students the key teachings of Jesus; the Beatitudes, The Golden Rule, Gospel Values and more. The second half of the unit focuses on how Christians today put these teaching into action, including an in depth study of the different vocations in the Church.

Unit 3: Social Justice

This unit allows students to consider their own and the Christian response to a variety of issues in the world today e.g. poverty, prejudice, discrimination. The also consider the role of the conscience in moral decision making and investigate Catholic social teaching and charities.

Unit 4: World Faiths

This unit focuses on key religious beliefs and teachings of Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism. It follows a thematic approach studying; beliefs about God, holy books, places of worship, prayer and festivals.

Each Key stage 3 module is assessed with a mid-topic and end of topic assessment which are marked and levelled in line with the whole school marking policy. Students also complete at least one self and peer assessment per unit of work.

KS4

Subject specification: AQA Religious Studies Specification B: Catholic Christianity, Judaism and Ethical Themes (A & C).

For more information please click AQA B Religous Studies

Key Stage 4 Religious Education at Corpus Christi Catholic College is taught according to the requirements of the Curriculum Directory for Catholic Schools.

Students in Year 9 have 5 periods of Religious Education per fortnight. The students study two units in the first term which prepares them to begin studying the GCSE course after Christmas.

Year 10 and 11 Students have 5 periods of Religious Studies per fortnight.

Year 9

Unit 1: Controversial Issues

In this unit students investigate a number of moral issues; Human Rights, Animal Rights, capital punishment, genetic engineering, media, war and immigration. They are encouraged to consider their own response to these issues as well as the Christian response, including teachings from the Bible and the Church.

Unit 2: Theology of the Body

This unit contributes to the school RSE provision and is an in depth study of the Church’s teaching on human relationships and sexuality. Students will consider the purpose of the human body, how we relate to each other, chastity, celibacy and marriage as well as a number of moral issues connected to human sexuality.

Unit 3: Introduction to GCSE

This short unit introduces students to key skills and themes that will contribute to their GCSE RE. Students consider religious art, sources of authority, key beliefs and the structure of the Church.

GCSE RE: Paper 2

Judaism: Beliefs and Teachings

In this unit students will be familiar with the key beliefs and teaching of Judaism including; beliefs about God as creator, one, judge and law-giver, Jewish beliefs about Shekinah, the Messiah, covenant, moral principles, the sanctity of life and free will.

Judaism: Practices

In this unit the focus shifts to how Jews practice their faith. Students will study Jewish customs around; birth, death, marriage, Bar Mitzvah, as well as key festivals and Shabbat.

Year 10

Theme A: Religion Relationship and families

In this unit students will consider Catholic, Christian and non-Christian beliefs about a range of issues connect to relationships and family life. The will build upon their knowledge of the Church’s teaching on marriage and family life, explore the nature of marriage itself and investigate gender equality.

Theme C: Religion, human rights and social justice

In this unit pupils will consider Catholic, Christian and non-Christian responses to issues connecting to human rights, wealth and poverty, racism and the work charities do to combat these issues.

Paper 1

Creation

Within this unit students will investigate examples of Christian art depicting creation, the nature of God as revealed in Genesis chapter 1 and 2, how Catholics and other Christians interpret the Bible, the relationship between science and religion, and contemporary issues surrounding stewardships.

Incarnation

Students begin this unit by explore the nativity accounts from Matthew, Luke and John’s Gospel, with a focus on what they teach about the incarnation. They will also consider the moral teachings of Jesus, the seven sacraments and issues surrounding abortion.

Triune God

This unit provides an opportunity for an in depth study of the Trinity. Students will explore how Christian beliefs about the Trinity have developed and how those beliefs have been expressed through music and liturgy. They will also study different forms of prayer found within the Christian tradition.

Year 11

Redemption

In this unit students focus their studies on Jesus’ saving actions and how these impact the lives of Christians today. They also investigate the features of a Catholic Church and how beliefs about redemption are reflected in the Mass.

Church and the Kingdom of God

This unit allows students to understand the role of the Church in the world today. They will study pilgrimage, mission and evangelisation, the Church hierarchy, vocation and the role of the Body of Christ

Eschatology

In the final unit of GCSE RE students study Christian beliefs about the end times; judgement, death, heaven, hell, funerals, memorials for the dead and how Christians care for the dying.

Revision

There will be time given before the GCSE exams to revise the 10 units studied for GCSE RE. This revision will focus on knowledge recall and developing the key skills needed to be successful in their examinations.

Students are assessed at the end of Year 11 through two examinations; one assessing Catholic Christianity and the other assessing Judaism and Themes. Both examinations are one hour and forty-five minutes. Students are assessed throughout the Key Stage at the mid-point and end of each module and through mock examinations at the end of Year 10 and Christmas of Year 11.