“Preparing students to engage with our complex and diverse modern society through the study of a range of religious and non-religious perspectives.”

KS4 Specification

AQA GCSE Religious Studies.

SACRE

Gladesmore Community School prides ourselves on delivering the breadth and ambition of the SACRE. 

For more information about the Haringey SACRE, please click here. 

Curriculum Intent

Religious Studies provide a framework where pupils are encouraged to critically explore ideas and reflect upon a range of beliefs through an academic structure and an informed dialogue. In providing a systematic framework for learning, pupils at Gladesmore are encouraged to think deeply about their own beliefs and the beliefs of others. This requires them to engage with religious concepts and to make judgments about the purpose, impact, and power of religious teachings; allowing misconceptions to be identified and challenged, whilst also allowing pupils to learn how to interact peacefully within a society and to recognise the importance of constructive dialogue. The presence of informed debate provides an opportunity to teach pupils how to manage disputes effectively and calmly while maintaining the integrity of their own beliefs.

Our Religious Studies curriculum secures itself upon the local Haringey SACRE agreed syllabus whereby we develop students’ understanding of the major world religions, with a particular emphasis on Christianity in local, national and global contexts, whilst also encouraging students to look at Non-Religious perspectives, including that of  Humanism. Our department aims to promote an awareness of the usefulness of Religious Studies for everyday living, to encourage interest in the study of other people’s beliefs and to promote mutual respect, tolerance and understanding across different cultures and communities.

Our students join from nearly fifty different feeder schools and, therefore, their knowledge of Religious Studies varies; our KS3 curriculum ensures to close the gaps that students might have in their knowledge. The curriculum is deliberately structured to ensure all students gain the foundational knowledge required of them in Year 7 and we combine the study of individual religions - including Islam and Judaism, to take account of our local contexts — with an issue-based approach, for example, ‘Is God Green?’. A vertical and cumulative structure allows students to build on these foundations in Year 8, including the study of units on Christianity, Hinduism and wealth and poverty.  In Year 9, we deliberately offer the opportunity for students to examine pertinent contemporary issues such as crime and punishment, attitudes to family life and ethical issues such as abortion and euthanasia.  

At KS4, working with the GCSE specification, we consider concepts such as justice, morality, identity and issues of ethics and how these underpin religious and human experience, whilst deepening students’ understanding of important beliefs, concepts and issues of truth and authority in religion. In conjunction with this, we ensure the delivery of the curriculum enables our students to examine and explain a range of personal, philosophical, theological and cultural reasons for similarities and differences in religious beliefs and values, both within and between religions. 

The curriculum is particularly planned to take account of the diverse community that our students belong to, for example, our local area is home to a large ultra-orthodox Jewish community, therefore our students are given the opportunity to learn about the beliefs and practices of Judaism. As members of Britain’s increasingly diverse society, exploring the beliefs and lifestyles of all people allows students to become religiously literate and tolerant, at the same time as considering what they, themselves, believe and allowing them to reflect on their own choices. For these reasons, our curriculum looks to encourage our students to value the opinions of others; not because they have been taught to do so, but because they have an academic understanding of the inherent nature of all human beings and their right to express their views. 

Ultimately, through religious studies at Gladesmore School, we aim to equip students with the knowledge and skills to answer challenging questions, examine the different beliefs, values and traditions that are followed in our multicultural society and to become informed citizens, able to make positive impacts on their societies and communities.

Curriculum Summary