Religious Studies
Head of Department: Mr B.T. Deane
The Religious Studies Department can be found at the heart at the school. We have five newly refurbished classrooms at the top of the Cloisters which look out over the beautiful rooftops of Oundle. Religious Studies forms part of the core curriculum for lower school pupils. It is also a popular choice for pupils at GCSE, AS and A2 level. At A level we have a number of pupils who are studying the Sciences but see Religious Studies as the perfect complement to their studies. A number of pupils go on each year to read Theology or Religious Studies at University.
The department is staffed by:
Mr R.S. Ambrose BA
Revd I.C. Browne MA
Mr B.T. Deane MA
Mrs A.E. Meisner BA
Mrs V. Nunn BEd
Course Content
1st to 4th Form
All pupils study Religious Studies in the first three years. We aim to give pupils an understanding and appreciation of the beliefs and practices of a range of different religions including Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Animism, Sikhism and Islam. Pupils are encouraged to see religion in a world context and learn about the effects it has therein.
All pupils follow a non-examined Ethical Issues course in the Fourth Form. A range of issues such as Human Rights, Capital Punishment and Euthanasia are discussed.
GCSE
Pupils electing to study Religious Studies at GCSE will follow the AQA specification, studying an Islam paper and a Christianity paper, focusing on the beliefs and practices of these two religions. Pupils visit a local mosque and the pilgrimage site of Walsingham as part of their studies.
AS/A2
We study the Edexcel specification at AS/A2 studying Philosophy of Religion and Ethics. For further details of course content, and pattern of assessment, follow this link
The A level course is designed to encourage pupils to research and question
on their own, as well as to develop their abilities to debate in class. We
look at the way that ethical and philosophical insights have influenced the
social, political and cultural aspects of Western Society. Pupils have the
opportunity to produce an extended piece of work on a topic of their choice.
Recent topics have included Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the writings of Kierkegaard
and Sartre and Animal Rights.