Our aims is that Religion, Philosophy and Ethics (RPE) at Keswick School should enable students to develop the humility to understand others and the wisdom to think for themselves. It should equip them with the skill of critical enquiry and an enthusiasm for the personal search for the meaning in life.
Religion, Philosophy and Ethics are three distinct but intertwined elements of our program of study. Knowledge of religion and non-religious worldviews enables students to acquire a body of knowledge about different belief systems in the world today. Philosophy encourages students to critically evaluate these ideas and ask searching questions about them.
Ethics seeks to engage students in consideration of what is right and wrong and make them think about their personal values. It also asks students to consider how religious and non-religious worldviews influence people’s behaviour and choices.
In planning our curriculum we have chosen ultimate questions, religious texts, thought experiments, case studies and ethical issues which we hope will inspire students and develop an attitude of wonder. All decisions about what we include in the curriculum are based on a desire to make RPE relevant, exciting and challenging. We choose to teach aspects of religions and non-religious worldviews that best highlight the complexity of belief in the 21st Century and help them to understand and evaluate religions and worldviews. Topics are sequenced so students can build an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the religions and worldviews we study by adding new information into existing frameworks. We are also mindful that the curriculum supports the handling of more controversial topics that require more emotional maturity in a sensitive manner.
It is essential to give our students who mainly live in a rural area with little cultural diversity, opportunities to experience and appreciate the diverse range of religions, world views and cultures that exist in the UK in order to break down prejudices, challenge misconceptions and develop tolerance and empathy. This means giving students opportunities to hear personal voices from a range of believers whether this be through trips and visits, speakers visiting lessons virtually or in person and the use of high quality documentaries.
In RPE we use a range of retrieval practices such as low stakes quizzes and reconstruction from memory to help students to commit the course content to memory. The curriculum has also been planned in a way in which knowledge is interleaved so that students revisit key concepts and knowledge and use that knowledge to facilitate their understanding of a new topic, for example vocabulary used to describe God introduced in Year 7 is a fundamental building block of understanding topics such as arguments for and against God’s existence in Year 9.
Key Stage 3 Religion, Philosophy & Ethics
Key Stage 3 Religion, Philosophy & Ethics Curriculum Map
GCSE Religion, Philosophy & Ethics
GCSE Religion, Philosophy & Ethics Curriculum Map
A Level Religion, Philosophy & Ethics
A Level Religion, Philosophy & Ethics Curriculum Map
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