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RE

Southgate School’s RE department wants students to develop a love of exploring and questioning the world they live in by thinking about big questions such as ‘What is our purpose?’ or ‘Is there anything after death?’. By exploring a range of theistic, atheistic and agnostic views, students develop empathy to understand and respect the views of others. In doing this, students learn to express and justify their own opinions and beliefs from philosophical, ethical and moral perspectives.

At Key Stage 3 - we check some learning and understanding from KS2 in Year 7 so that our students are prepared to be ready for challenge. We look at the impact of religious and spiritual experiences in life and the world as well as delving into the lives of people who have been a source of inspiration in society. In Year 8 we further develop thinking skills by looking at topics from Community Cohesion, Good and evil and Life after death.  The skill they develop in RE are transferable across a wide range of subjects.

There is a clear focus on knowledge and understanding in Years 7 and 8.

In Year 9, students are introduced to topics that complement prior learning with a focus on the skills of analysis and evaluation. Using these skills, they learn about the challenges of belief and the validity of those views. As in previous years, these are explored through independent reflection, discussion and home learning, enabling them to develop their confidence in exploring, challenging and evaluating. By the end of Year 9, students will have developed the resilience required to take them through to the next stage of their education.

At Key Stage 4, Religious Studies students study Christianity and Islam in these contexts:

  • Relationships and families: sexuality, contraception, marriage, divorce and nature/purpose of families
  • Religion and life: different views of the origins of the earth, the environment, abortion, euthanasia and life after death. 
  • Crime and Punishment: Cause of crime, Aims of Punishment, suffering, The death penalty
  • Human Rights and Social Justice: Religious freedom, the status of women and homosexuals, prejudice and discrimination, Uses and value of wealth, poverty, its causes, exploitation of the poor and responses

The skills developed progressively from Y7 - 9 are revisited and applied in more challenging contexts.

At Key Stage 5, through the study of Philosophy and Ethics, such as ancient philosophical thinkers Plato and Socrates, issues such as evil and suffering; death and the afterlife; business and sexual ethics; utilitarianism; natural law; religious language and the work of Kant, our students develop lifelong analytical skills. As a result, students leave as positive, respectful, confident and independent thinkers.