We aim to provide our students with good knowledge and understanding of world religions, beliefs, practices and values.

These are related to students’ immediate environment; the media, culture, society, family and morality.

We aim to help our students develop the skills and attitudes which will allow them to be sympathetic and open minded to people and ideas available in the world community both on an intellectual level and on a spiritual level.

The RE Department also seeks to prepare students for a future in which they will make personal choices about meaning, value and religious direction in society. Students will be challenged to examine their own beliefs and values in the light of the knowledge and understanding they have developed about religious traditions.

Students will have the opportunity to study Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism and Islam. They will learn about the beliefs, communities, traditions, values, scriptures, and rituals of these religions. They will also be given the opportunity to analyse how a belief system can influence a person’s actions in the world today. Students will be given time to reflect on their own beliefs and values, whether these are religious or non-religious.

Ano 7

Students begin the year with a thematic look at the major world religions, looking at beliefs, sources of authority and lead figures within the religion. Students will then take a more in depth look at the following religions: Hinduism, Christianity and Judaism. The final half term is devoted to creating an entry for the spirited art national competition. This has a different theme each year and allows students to show their own skills in any form of art, whilst reflecting on the work they have covered during year 7.

Ano 8

Students are introduced to philosophy in year 8. We investigate ultimate questions, researching the thoughts of philosophers and our own views. Christianity is revisited in year 8 looking specifically at the life of Jesus. We end the year by looking at influential figures in religion. Students then work on a charity research task with the aim to raise money for a local charity.

Ano 9

Students consider a range of ethical issues. Topics include animal rights, euthanasia and relationships and family. The topics are studied from the legal/medical perspective in the UK, Islam, and Christianity. Students will have the opportunity to evaluate different world views which will help them form their own opinions with valid academic reasons.

ESTUDOS RELIGIOSOS GCSE - ESPECIFICAÇÃO AQA DA COMISSÃO EXAMINADORA A

GCSE Religious Studies is a popular option for students. The GCSE is divided into two papers: ‘The Study of Religion’ and ‘Themes’. Students have two exams at the end of year 11. Each exam lasts 1hour 45minutes. There is no coursework in Religious Studies.

Syllabus

Unidade 1 - O Estudo das Religiões, crenças, ensinamentos e práticas.

In this paper students look at the beliefs, teachings and practices in two religions; Christianity and Islam.

Unidade 2 - Estudos Temáticos - Tema religioso, filosófico e ético.

Students will study four themes.

1.  Relationships and Family 
2. Religion and Life 
3. Religion, Peace and Conflict 
4. Crime e Castigo Religioso

Details of the course can be found here.

Contexto

Você existe? Existe alguma coisa? Podemos confiar nos nossos sentidos? Como podemos saber alguma coisa? O que é o conhecimento? O que é uma mente? Como é que devo agir? Qual é o objectivo da vida? 

If you have ever thought about any of these questions, then you have already started doing philosophy. Philosophy considers the biggest questions ever asked, questions that other academic subjects cannot answer. Many of these questions have been asked by humans for thousands of years. In the Philosophy A Level, we study the answers to these questions provided by the world’s greatest philosophers and attempt to answer them ourselves. 

Progress in answering these questions requires clear and rigorous thinking, sensitivity to conceptual distinctions, imagination, understanding, often a sense of humour, always a sense of wonder, a delight in discussions and listening and, crucially, the ability to think for oneself. We study the structure of arguments and use logic and reason to criticise the thoughts of philosophers, and to construct our own philosophical theories. Philosophy is an academic discipline, and to be successful you need to be a keen and perceptive reader, and have the ability to express yourself clearly through your written work. Above all, you will need an open and inquisitive mind, and a desire to untangle some complicated and important problems.

The Exam: OCR Religious Studies

The A level is divided into three parts:

1. Philosophy of religion
2. Ethics
3. Developments in Christian Thought

Each topic is examined. In each exam students must write 3 essays from 4 possible titles. Each exam is 2 hours in duration.

Results are consistently very good, and many students go on to study Philosophy at a higher level. Philosophy is well regarded by Russell Group universities and provides a range of transferable skills. As such, it complements the study of all other A level subjects. Philosophy is often described by students as their favourite subject, and what you learn in philosophy will stay with you forever.

For specific details of the course studied at A level click the link below:  https://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/as-and-a-level/religious-studies-h173-h573-from-2016

Que competências irei aprender? 

As lições envolvem discussões e debates. Ajudá-lo-ão a adquirir uma série de novas competências: 

• Como pensar por si mesmo e questionar a norma. 
• Como examinar a informação de uma forma crítica 
• Como formar julgamentos com base numa avaliação clara da informação. 
• Como colocar os seus pontos de vista de forma clara. 

A que pode a Filosofia conduzir?

A Filosofia é um tema popular para estudar na universidade. É frequentemente combinada com política e ética. A filosofia vai afinar o seu raciocínio para que as suas capacidades intelectuais melhoradas possam ser utilizadas numa série de carreiras; Direito, política, função pública, jornalismo, publicidade, educação - para citar algumas. 

Que temas combinam bem com a Filosofia?

A resposta simples é qualquer. A Filosofia tem ligações aos Estudos Religiosos, História, Literatura Inglesa e Arte. No entanto, faz e combina perfeitamente com a ciência e a matemática, uma vez que implica pensar em ideias.

• Filosofia: Os Clássicos por Nigel Warburton 
• Um pouco de História da Filosofia de Nigel Warburton 
• Pense: Uma introdução convincente à Filosofia por Simon Blackburn 
• Ser Bom: Uma Breve Introdução à Ética por Simon Blackburn 
• O que é que realmente sabemos? As Grandes Questões em Filosofia por Simon Blackburn 
• Filosofia Política por Adam Swift 
• O que o dinheiro não pode comprar: Os Limites Morais dos Mercados por Michael Sandel 
• Justiça: O que é a coisa certa a fazer? por Michael Sandel