Religious Studies
Religious Studies at the Bridge Education Centre involves developing mindful and informed pupils by studying topics that are relevant to them and which allow pupils to have their own outlooks challenged in a safe and stimulating environment.
Through studying different religions and ethical topics, pupils are able to gain a deeper understanding of what people in society believe and the reasons for these beliefs as well as exploring their own views on the topics being discussed.
KS3
Pupils in Key Stage 3 study a number of different topics that change every half term. These include the beliefs and practices of a number of different world religions such as Islam and Buddhism as well as exploring ethical issues through topics such as Crime and Punishment and Life and Death.
GCSE
When pupils reach year 10 they begin working towards a full course GCSE in Religious Studies which will they sit in the summer of year 11.
The GCSE is broken down into 8 sections (as shown below) which are covered in two exam papers.
Paper 1 - Religions (1 hour 45 minutes)
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Judaism Beliefs
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Judaism Practices
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Christianity Beliefs
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Christianity Practices
Online revision tool that can be used to revise the Religions Paper:
https://app.senecalearning.com/classroom/course/0daf5430-3329-11e8-ac6b-311801e0fd28/section/377fd3c0-3329-11e8-ac6b-311801e0fd28/session
Online Assessment Tool: that can be used to self-assess the Religions Paper:
https://app.senecalearning.com/classroom/course/ad037ae1-0a75-4d5e-8b4f-f6212e306725/section/bebab573-45fe-4b11-ac0d-eb74c9994b56/session
Paper 2- Themes (1 hour 45 minutes)
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Religion and Life
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Crime and Punishment
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Relationships and Families
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Peace and Conflict
Online revision tool that can be used to revise the Themes Paper:
https://app.senecalearning.com/classroom/course/419cd464-5c51-4d08-b49c-d5325d6121c8/section/358046ec-800c-42a0-91ac-8cf034252348/session
Online Assessment Tool: that can be used to self-assess the Themes Paper:
https://app.senecalearning.com/classroom/course/e1c2a99f-f38d-4ef0-aca1-bf52fef34903/section/9eb7dc5c-a182-4001-a453-03a604d017bf/session
Short Course
For some pupils it is deemed that the short court GCSE is the most appropriate pathway. This involves sitting one exam (1 hour 45 minutes) and looking at only four of the topics from the full course GCSE. These topics are: Judaism Beliefs; Christianity Beliefs; Relationships and Families; Peace and Conflict.
What is the aim of RS at the Bridge?
Religious Studies aims to educate pupils to become open minded, tolerant and understanding by learning about relevant, sensitive and sometimes controversial issues in religions and society as a whole. Pupils will begin to be able to challenge negative perceptions or stereotypes that they may encounter in their everyday lives. Pupils will learn to consider these topics philosophically, working with their peers to question what is being taught and consequently furthering their independent and collaborative skills.
This reflects the ethos of the centre as we aim to help pupils to constructively participate in thoughtful decision making in their own lives and in society, which for many pupils may hinder their returning to school or being as successful as they are capable of being. In addition, many of our pupils benefit from developing their listening skills and sense of empathy which Religious Studies does by helping pupils to appreciate other people’s perspectives and the reason for these views.
