Overview

Philosophy, Religion and Ethics enables students to engage critically with significant ethical, philosophical and social issues in order to understand the world we live in more fully. Students learn about a wide range of religious beliefs and practices, including non-religious worldviews. They do this for the development of their knowledge, for their capacity to flourish in our diverse society, and for their growing understanding of their own identity and outlook. Students are encouraged to develop their own considered opinion, to articulate their views and engage in productive dialogue and debate with others.

In line with national and local guidelines we spend 50% of our time studying Christianity and the remaining time studying the other five world faiths and non-religious views.

How we Assess Your Child's Progress

Students regularly participate in the assessment process through peer and self-assessment using very clear guidelines from us. We also set regular tests to enable students to build and retain subject knowledge. Once a term students are set a takeaway homework task which will be given an effort grade and a “now task” which will require the students to make improvements to their work. In addition to this, every term a summative assessment is completed which could be an essay, GCSE style question or a creative task. This assessment will be given a threshold and a “now task” which is be set to extend their learning or develop key skills. Prior to a summative assessment students are given a “prep” sheet which they use to gather research and plan their assessment. At the end of the year there is a knowledge based examination, students are given a revision guide so that they can prepare for their final exam.

Year 7

In Year 7, we aim to develop the religious knowledge that the students already have, introduce them to a world faith that may be new to them and encourage them to ask philosophical questions about the beliefs that they encounter.

Skills Developed

In Year 7, students begin to develop their knowledge and understanding of religious traditions and non-religious worldviews. Students will learn how religious identity influences people’s lives and will be encouraged to express their own considered opinions about the nature and value of religion on people and the planet. Students will develop the skills of listening, speaking and discussing, as well as those of enquiry, analysis and evaluation.

Topics Covered

Download the PRE Year 7 Curriculum Overview

• Greek Philosophy
• Philosophy
• Judaism
• Sikhism

How we Support and Develop Your Child

Our lessons and homework tasks are carefully planned to enable all students to contribute and flourish. We give students original religious texts to analyse and evaluate, both verbally and in writing. We provide writing frameworks to help students do this. We think that it is imperative that our students meet religious communities rather than just read about them and so trips are important: for example we run a trip to the Gurdwara in Southampton. Homework is set fortnightly and consists of a mixture of research tasks, spelling lists, “Sam Learning” tasks and takeaway menu assignments from which your child can make a guided choice. We also run a film club that meets every half term which links with the topics that we study.

Year 8

Overview

 In year 8, we deepen the students’ knowledge of Christianity, introduce the faith of Islam and study the lives of inspirational figures.

Skills Developed

In year 8, students are developing with increasing depth and discernment, their knowledge and understanding of religious traditions. Students will learn how religious identity influences people’s lives and will be encouraged to express their own considered opinions about the nature and value of religion on people and the planet. Students will develop the skills of listening, speaking and discussing, as well as those of enquiry, analysis and evaluation.

Topics Covered

Download the PRE Year 8 Curriculum Overview

Islam

• What is the relationship between belief and art?
• What is the significance of the Night of Power?
• What is the significance of the Islamic greeting “Peace, mercy and blessings?”

Christianity

• Does the world need prophets today?
• What do we do when life gets hard?
• Why do Christians believe that Jesus is God on earth?

Hinduism

• How and why would a Hindu try to follow the teaching of ahimsa?
• How do beliefs in life after death affect the life of a Hindu?
• How does the belief in Ahimsa influence Karma, Samsara and Reincarnation. What impact do our actions have?

How we Support and Develop Your Child

Our lessons and homework tasks are carefully planned to enable all students to contribute and flourish. We give students original religious texts to analyse and evaluate, both verbally and in writing. We provide writing frameworks to help students do this. We also use experiential lessons to help students empathise with religious believers. We believe that it is imperative that our students meet religious communities rather than just read about them and so trips are important, for example we run a trip to a local mosque. Homework is set fortnightly and consists of a mixture of research tasks, spelling lists, “Sam Learning” tasks, revising for tests and takeaway menu assignments from which your child can make a guided choice. The PRE department runs a twitter account from which we post articles and links that enable the students to extend their learning. We also run a film club that meets every half term which links with the topics that we study.

Year 9

Overview

In Year 9, we introduce the ethical systems that students will use at GCSE, we introduce the faith of Buddhism and we ensure that their knowledge of Christianity will enable them to access our GCSE course.

Skills Developed

In year 9, students are showing increasing depth and discernment when demonstrating their knowledge and understanding of religious traditions. Students will learn how religious identity influences people’s lives and will be encouraged to express their own considered opinions about the nature and value of religion on people and the planet. Students will develop the skills of listening, speaking and discussing, as well as those of enquiry, analysis and evaluation.

Topics Covered

Download the PRE Year 9 Curriculum Overview

• Buddhism
• Philosophy and ethics
• Issues of relationships

How we Support and Develop Your Child

Our lessons and homework tasks are carefully planned to enable all students to contribute and flourish. We give students original religious texts to analyse and evaluate, both verbally and in writing. In order for our students to understand the influence that religion has on society we make regular use of current affairs and ethical dilemmas. We also encourage our students to watch the news or read a newspaper. Homework is set fortnightly and consists of a mixture of research tasks, spelling lists, “Sam Learning” tasks and takeaway menu assignments from which your child can make a guided choice. The PRE department runs a Twitter account from which we post articles and links that enable the students to extend their learning.

Subject Leader: Mrs N Gill
Email: gilln@lytchett.org.uk

What skills will PRE help me develop?
No matter what career path you eventually take, you will always be working with people and a GCSE in PRE indicates to an employer someone who has had experience of thinking critically, analysing other people's views and expressing themselves clearly. Presenting a balanced argument and criticising other viewpoints are examples of skills that students develop throughout the course.

What job will PRE help me get?
PRE helps you understand people and to think about the big issues that we all face.  For this reason it is an ideal choice for those thinking of careers dealing with the public or families; such as teaching, social work and the police.  We also examine issues relating to medical ethics and so we are hugely relevant to those pursuing a career in medicine.

Do we go on any trips?
Every other year our students take a residential trip to London visiting the sacred cows and the followers of Hare Krishna at Bhaktivedanta Manor, the amazing Neasden Temple and St Paul’s Cathedral.

GCSE students are also invited to join our sixth formers at various events and conferences.  For example we recently travelled to London to listen to Richard Dawkins talk about why he rejects religious ideas.

How will the course be assessed?
The course is assessed through a two hour exam paper on Philosophy and Ethics.  In addition there are two one hour exam papers on Christianity and Hinduism respectively.

Philosophy and Ethics make up 50% of the course; Hinduism and Christianity make up the remaining 50% between them.  There is no coursework.

What is the course about?
We follow the EDUQAS Religious Studies Route A course which involves a range of philosophical and ethical issues; as well as the study of Hinduism and Christianity.

Philosophy examines big questions and concepts, such as whether there is life after death, how do religion and science relate and the challenge of evil to there being a God.

In Ethics, we consider the issues surrounding abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, wealth and human rights.

A variety of viewpoints are considered when exploring these topics including Humanist, Christian and Hindu attitudes.

Students are encouraged to form their own opinion of these issues and support their ideas with a well-reasoned and evaluated response.

Download the Core PRE Year 10 Curriculum Overview

Download the PRE Year 10 GCSE Curriculum Overview

Download the PRE Year 11 GCSE Curriculum Overview

What are lessons like?
Be prepared to discuss and debate the different philosophical and ethical issues in class, challenging other students’ ideas and explaining your own.

For many years we have consistently been placed amongst the top 25% of PRE departments nationally due to our results. This is achieved through high expectations in terms of written work in class and at home with weekly exam question practice.

Areas of Study Include:

• Relationships
• Life after death
• Good and evil
• Human rights
• Christianity
• Hinduism

 Sixth Form links

Our GCSE course provides an excellent grounding for our A-Level in Philosophy, Religion and Ethics. We accept students who achieve at least a grade 6 In PRE and/or English Language.