For many children and young people religious education (RE) lessons will be the first place they learn about people different from themselves and often the first context in which they will meet a person who belongs to a religious or belief tradition different from their own. Pupils are encouraged to learn about and develop their own beliefs and learn about the beliefs and practices of others, whilst learning to respect those who hold beliefs different to their own. We wish to help students acquire core knowledge and understanding of the beliefs and practices of the religions and worldviews which not only shape their history and culture but which guide their own development.
The Curriculum
Religious Education is a complex field of study that looks at what it means to be a spiritual, moral, social, cultural and intellectual human. It occupies a significant space within the curriculum because the knowledge gained here is unquestionably powerful for the wider curriculum within formal education and beyond. This is achieved through a well-sequenced, systematic, knowledge-rich study of religion, philosophy and ethics. It can be said that RE is the well from which all other subjects drink from. RE is about getting beyond the face value of a belief, practice, or thought. At Ysgol Gyfun Aberaeron, our Religious Studies lessons give pupils the opportunity to develop respect for others as well as recognise the importance of religion in the community.
Key Stage 3
ln Year 7-9 pupils receive two Religious Studies lessons per fortnight. These are some of the themes that we study at Ysgol Gyfun Aberaeron.
Year 7 Theme: How multicultural is our area?
Year 8 Theme: Do religious rules matter?
Year 9 theme: Why do we suffer?
Key Stage 4
All pupils at the School complete the Religious Studies short course at Key Stage 4 and receive one lesson per fortnight. Religious Studies can also be chosen as a full GCSE subject, whereby pupils receive five lessons per fortnight. We provide lessons that encourage debate about moral issues and give pupils the opportunity to develop opinions on all sorts of subjects.
Specification: GCSE Religious Studies
Resources and Home Learning
Pupils will be using HWB and Office 365 to access school work and homework. This is an excellent platform that allows pupils to interact and collaborate with each other through e-mail, ClassCharts, and Teams.
We provide a variety of online tasks via Teams such as quizzes and assignments, as well as engaging video clips.