Religious Studies

Religious Education at Davenant includes a curriculum which aims to engage, inspire, challenge and encourage pupils, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to answer challenging questions. Religious Education contributes significantly to the Christian character of the school and enables pupils to ask deep and often searching questions about their own faiths and beliefs, and the beliefs, faiths and opinions of others, and also apply these to pertinent moral issues. RE enables pupils to develop religious and theological literacy. 

Pupils will be able to deepen their understanding of God as encountered and taught by Christians. The teaching of RE makes links between the beliefs, practices and value systems of a range of faiths and world-views studied. The RE curriculum helps to develop responsibility and respect for all aspects of diversity, whether it be social, cultural and religious, and prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain. Therefore, the RE curriculum at Davenant reflects the school’s core vision and values of compassion, determination, open-mindedness, respect and inclusion.

In line with the new agreed syllabus we will be taking a multi-disciplinary approach to Balanced RE. The syllabus will be gradually revised to reflect knowledge progression in the three kinds of knowledge in RE as well as a balance multi-disciplinary approach through the lenses of theology, philosophy and human sciences/sociology. (In this regard we will be adopting the Key principles of a balanced curriculum in RE’ –– (Church of England 2018) and now the recommendations of the Essex Syallabus).

In looking at the curriculum we will consider:

  1. Substantive Knowledge - What are the key facts we want the young people to know?

  2. Disciplinary knowledge – What are the key things (skills) we want young people to do?

  3. Personal knowledge – How does their own experience influence their approach? What presuppositions, biases and values do they hold?

Learning is embedded through the development of knowledge and skills over time. 

In KS3, the curriculum breadth supports learners’ knowledge and understanding of religions and non-religious beliefs. This will be evident through regular assessment as laid out in the assessment policy.

Students have 4 lessons per fortnight in Year 9 and Year 10. They sit their GCSE RE Qualification at the end of Year 10. The Department has a GCSE RE Revision Website that is regularly updated with tips and resources. https://sites.google.com/davenant.org/gcse-rs/

Exam Overview

AQA Religious Studies A (8062): Christianity and Islam

Paper 1: Religions: Beliefs and Practices – Christianity and Islam only.

Paper 2: Themes: (1) Religion, Relationships and Families, (2) Religion, Peace and Conflict

(3) Religion, Crime and Punishment (4) The Existence of God

Both papers are 1 Hour 45 Minutes

Topics to Study

Paper One Religions:

  • Christian Beliefs

  • Christian Practices

  • Islamic Beliefs

  • Islamic Practices

Paper Two: Themes

A. Religion, Relationships and Families

C. Religion, Peace and Conflict

D. Religion, Crime and Punishment

E. The Existence of God

For more detailed information about the course content and assessment requirements, please refer to the examination board website: 

AQA | GCSE | Religious Studies A | Specification at a glance

Students studying the subject at A Level follow the OCR specification.  During the course the following topics are covered.

Religious Education at KS5 aims to integrate a formal curriculum, which covers a range of current moral issues and also a less discreet program which fully immerses students within the Sixth Form with the Christian Ethos, which is prevalent from years 7 to 11. The “Thinking Morally” SMSC program is delivered in tutorial time. There are also day conferences covering moral issues such as Human Trafficking and Human Rights, from a secular moral and religious perspective.  

The school uses the OCR Specification for Religious Studies, and completes Units on Philosophy, Ethics and Development in Christian Thought. For more details, please see the OCR Website:

AS and A Level - Religious Studies - H173, H573 (from 2016) - OCR

What will you learn in Year 12?  

In year 12 this means looking at ancient Greek Philosophy and its influence today. The Philosophy unit also looks at the existence of God, the problem of Evil and challenges to religious belief. Ethics looks at contemporary moral issues such as euthanasia, war, medical research and business ethics and the ethical theories that might help navigate through these moral debates. Finally, we examine developments in Christian thought examining what it means to be human, death and the afterlife and the Person of Jesus.  

Which modules will you take? Unit 1: Philosophy of Religion. Unit 2: Religious Ethics and contemporary issue. Unit 3: Development in Religious Thought. 

What will you learn in Year 13? We start a more in depth philosophical study about what God is like and what language we use to talk about God, looking at traditional and modern perspectives. In Ethics, we look at the idea of the conscience, meta-ethics and changing attitudes to sexuality.  

Finally, we look at the challenges presented to Christianity by secularism, Marxism and gender theories. We also examine the response to these challenges through Liberation Theology and Feminist Theology. Where will this course lead? Religious Studies is A rated by Russell Group universities. It teaches synthesis, research, evaluation, and tools for creative thought. It constitutes excellent preparation for any Arts based degree, being particularly useful for students reading Law. The focus of modern ethical issues makes it an admirable fourth A Level for prospective medics.