Religious Education

Summary

Religious Education at Ripley St Thomas is a rigorous, academic and engaging subject, studied by all pupils across all key stages within the Academy. RE plays a central role in the core curriculum as well as in the academic, personal and spiritual development of our pupils.

We aim for all pupils to flourish spiritually, academically and personally so that they can live life in all its fullness. At the heart of all we do is the desire to develop the skills for pupils to critically explore matters of faith, belief, morality and spirituality as a part of their own personal spiritual journey.

Christianity lies at the heart of the curriculum and we aim to reflect the Christian Gospel in all we do. Through the academic discipline of RE we welcome those of all faiths and none. Pupils develop transferrable skills that will help to prepare them for life-long learning.

Key Stage 3

In Key Stage 3, we use the Blackburn Diocese’s Illuminating Pathways curriculum. This allows pupils to flourish as curious minds and gain insights into the views of others, both inside and outside of the classroom.

We use key questions to encourage pupils to explore their thoughts on important ethical and philosophical topics. They then compare these with the responses of various followers of major world religions and world views.

Through their study of religion, philosophy and ethics, pupils gain an understanding of how different beliefs and values affect our lives on a personal level and develop an awareness of the influence of religions in shaping contemporary British society.

Pupils are introduced to world religions as living and contemporary faiths, the study of which contributes towards pupils learning to respect and critically engage with beliefs and practices.

We continually seek to break down stereotypes, prejudices and ignorance of people’s beliefs, cultures and practices and challenge pupils to critically reflect upon and discuss their views, beliefs and opinions.

We encourage our pupils to develop well-informed personal opinions about the religious and moral issues studied and equip them to challenge the beliefs of others in a respectful and academic manner whilst upholding our core Christian and British values.

Courageous Advocacy runs through our curriculum. For example, we support the delivery of the Archbishops’ Young Leaders Award in Year 7. This award has proven to be exceptionally popular with our pupils and acts as a significant contributor to not only their personal moral and spiritual growth but also to the overall Christian distinctiveness of the school.

Key Stage 4

In Key Stage 4, all pupils study the AQA Religious Studies full course GCSE (specification A – Christian and Muslim beliefs and practices as well as four separate thematic studies). Pupils study a range of moral and ethical topics:

• Crime and punishment
• Relationships and families
• Religion and life
• Religion, peace and conflict

Courageous advocacy continues to be central to our curriculum in key stage 4 as pupils develop a deeper understanding of local, national and international issues that they feel strongly about.

Options Booklet 2024

Key Stage 5

Core RE

All students in Sixth Form study core RE for an hour per week. We follow the Blackburn Diocese’s Key Stage 5 Illuminating Pathways as our starting point for our bespoke resources. This curriculum is underpinned by three key questions:

• The challenge of compassion
• Who is my neighbour?
• How might we prevent suffering?

Courageous Advocacy continues to underpin the curriculum intent in key stage 5. Philosophical debate is central to students’ learning. This allows them to explore their attitudes and those of others through the lives and lens of key people such as Marcus Rashford.