Garforth Academy & School

Contact Name: Mrs E McMurrough

Who's who:

Details of KS3: Students are taught in form classes in Y7 & Y8

In Religious Education at KS3, students engage with an exciting and stimulating curriculum, covering all six major world religions as well as philosophical, moral, social and spiritual topics. The syllabus encourages students to monitor their progression through national curriculum levels and in their development of personal learning and thinking skills.

Year 7

Year 8

Details of KS4

All students receive an element of Religious Education alongside their PHSE work at KS4 and through spiritual. moral, social and cultural themes followed across the year by all year bands.

Full GCSE

This runs from Year 9 to Year 11. We study the AQA Christianity: Ethics and Islam course. The topics we cover are:

Christianity: Ethics

• Christian Principles
• Personal Responsibility (Relationships, Contraception, Drugs)
• Social Responsibility (Marriage, Divorce, Re-Marriage, Prejudice and Discrimination)
• Global Concerns (Environmental problems, Wealth and Poverty, Charity)
• Conflict (War, Pacifism, Crime and Punishment)
• The Right to Life (Abortion and Euthanasia)
• Use of Medical Technology (IVF, Surrogacy, Genetic Engineering, Gene Therapy, etc)

Islam

• Beliefs and Sources of Authority
• The Five Pillars of Islam
• Worship (The Mosque, Local Community, Festivals)
• Personal Lifestyle (Diet, Dress, Ummah, Importance of lifestyle and community)
• Family Life (Marriage, Divorce, Re-Marriage, Polygamy, Homosexuality in Islam)
• Justice and Equality (Prejudice and Discrimination and Role of Women)

Throughout the course, students are encouraged to develop their own opinions about the topics and ideas they are studying as well as being respectful towards other religions and viewpoints. We encourage active participation in lessons and support students in their development of key skills (for example: thinking skills, group work, cohesion, understanding, discussion, debating, etc…)

Year 9 students begin the course with a residential trip to Herd Farm in Eccup to familiarise themselves with key principles of each religion and to build positive relationships with their class and teachers.

Students have the opportunity during Year 10 to go on a trip to a Mosque.

Students have two hours a week for this subject  and are examined at the end of Year 11.

Examination: 2 x 90 minute exam (one in each religion)

Exam results 2010/11: 100% A* - C

Details of KS5:

Edexcel Philosophy and Ethics AS & A2

AS topics include:

• Religion & Morality
• Situation Ethics
• Just war theory
• Utilitarianism
• Cosmological Argument
• Teleological Argument
• Problem of Evil & Suffering
• Miracles as evidence for the existance of God

Students have two exams at the end of year 12. One exam tests knowledge in Philosophy and Ethics. The second exam is on the topic of Euthanasia.

A2 topics include

• Virtue Ethics
• The relationship between religion and morality
• Natural Moral Law
• Categorical Imperative
• Emotivism and Intuitionism
• Relativism, Objectivity and Subjectivity
• Justice, Authority, Law and Punishment
• Proof and Probability
• Ontological Argument
• Religious experience
• Arguments for the non-existance of God
• Life after death
• Religious language

The first exam is Named Developments which covers both Philosophy and Ethics The second exam is called be taken in Jnauary and the second exam will be Implications - based on a "seen" anthology.

Students do very well on the course and we generally have over 50% of candidates gaining A or B grades.

Forthcoming Events:

Look out for information on the Year 10 Mosque trip.

Y8 Humanities Week will focus on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict (w/c 18th June 2012)