RE & Philosophy

Our aim is to equip students with the tools to enquire, evaluate, reflect and be curious about the world they live in, particularly through the prism of religion, ethics and philosophy, as well as to engender independent thought.

Discussion and debate are encouraged. This should lead students to make free and informed choices based on reasoned evidence as a result of a balanced presentation of the issues in class.

The 20th Century British Philosopher Bertrand Russell said, “Philosophy, if it cannot answer so many questions as we could wish, has at least the power of asking questions which increase the interest of the world, and show the strangeness and wonder lying just below the surface even in the commonest things of daily life” (The Problems of Philosophy, 1912).

Religious Studies & Philosophy are thriving at Wilson’s with a department consisting of dedicated and passionate subject specialists who seek to provide thought-provoking, rigorous and enjoyable experiences for all students. Our approach is academic but our backgrounds enable the students to encounter a wealth of different perspectives which include Theology, Ethics and Philosophy.

Our Staff

Mrs Craigmyle (Head of Religious Studies and Philosophy)
Miss Atwell
Mr Lynch
Miss Mortimer
Mrs Seal

Key Stage 3

In Year 7 students cover a curriculum designed to introduce some of the world's major faiths through specific prisms, as well as investigating some of the core contentious issues at the heart of religion:

Hinduism through reincarnation
Sikhism through worship & practice
Buddhism through the Buddha & his teachings
Judaism through the Covenant (including 1st & 2nd covenants, Passover, Post-Holocaust theology)

In Year 8 the focus moves towards preparation for the upcoming GCSE (AQA A Religious Studies) through application of religious teachings they have previously encountered to a range of ethical and controversial questions alongside an introduction to the rigours of Christian Theology:

Religion, Peace and Conflict – application of religious and non-religious teachings to war, protest and pacifism
The existence of God and revelation – arguments for and against the existence of God, a consideration of the Problem of Evil, different ideas about the Divine and the impact of revelation
Christianity: Key Beliefs and Jesus Christ & salvation

KS3 Core Concepts

1 Knowledge

Display knowledge of the key features, terms and concepts of the religions and ethical/philosophical theories studied
(Without being secure in this CC students will be unable to access CC 2 and 3)

EXCEEDING: Knowledge of the key features, terms and concepts is detailed and secure. It is correctly used with confidence in response to questions and will include relevant and accurate examples to aid student explanation.

SECURE: Knowledge of the key features, terms and concepts is correct and accurately used in response to questions. The use of relevant examples to aid student explanation may not always happen consistently.

DEVELOPING: Knowledge of the key features, terms and concepts is limited and often incorrect. There may be some areas of confusion between different religions or ethical/philosophical theories and relevant examples are rarely used to aid student explanation.

2 Explanation and interpretation

Display understanding of these key features, terms and concepts through explanation of their influence and impact on individuals

EXCEEDING: Knowledge of the key features, terms and concepts is used in such a way that indicates detailed understanding of the influence and impact they may have upon different individuals or groups.

SECURE: Relevant knowledge of the key features, terms and concepts is accurately selected to show an understanding of the influence and impact they may have on an individual or group.

DEVELOPING: Explanations may contain areas of inaccuracy or display limited understanding of the key features, terms and concepts of a religion or ethical/philosophical viewpoint. There is little or no attempt to engage with the influence or impact particular viewpoints may have on the thoughts and behaviour of people from a range of different traditions.

3 Evidence and judegments

Display an ability to explain, evaluate and come to a reasoned judgement about religious and ethical/philosophical viewpoints using relevant evidence

EXCEEDING: Knowledge of the key features, terms and concepts is used to successfully create clear PEEL* paragraphs that support a clear line of argument leading to a well formed and convincing justified conclusion. Evidence is carefully selected so that it best supports the point and is directly answering the question.

SECURE: Relevant knowledge of the key features, terms and concepts is used to support a line of argument but this is not always done in clear PEEL* paragraphs. A range of viewpoints are discussed but a justified conclusion is always reached. Evidence selected does not always best support the point and isn’t always directly answering the question.

DEVELOPING: Shows some evidence of an ability to give points for and against a viewpoint using prior knowledge of the key features, terms and concepts of a religion or ethical/philosophical theory. However there is not a clear PEEL* structure, evidence selected is not always relevant to the point or question and a justified conclusion is not reached. Instead the conclusion simply repeats a previous point made.

*PEEL (Point, Evidence, Explanation and Link) is the writing structure used within the department.

Key Stage 4

All students study GCSE Religious Studies and we follow the course on Islam, Christianity & applied ethics offered by AQA (AQA Religious Studies A). The GCSE is taken a year early at the end of Year 10. The content covered includes:

Theme: Religion, Peace and Conflict
Theme: Existence of God and Revelation
Christianity: Key Beliefs and Jesus Christ & salvation
Theme: Religion and Life
Christianity: Practices
Islam: Key Beliefs and Authority
Islam: Practices
Theme: Relationships and families

For full details of the content of each topic, please see the AQA specification.

In Year 11 students have the opportunity to take a Philosophy Enrichment course which introduces them to key areas within the study of Philosophy and to the skills required to undertake the subject at A Level.

Key Stage 5

A Level Philosophy
Philosophy is best seen as asking and attempting to answer questions in a search for the truth. What do we know? How do we know it? What is it that knows? What is our “mind”? Do we have a soul? Is there a God? Can we prove God‘s existence? Can we know our own minds? These are just a few of the questions that will be discussed during the course. You will also be introduced to a number of seminal works of philosophy. Philosophy is a subject that appeals particularly to those who enjoy discussion and debate, who are prepared to think hard about abstract questions and not settle for superficial answers, who enjoy reading and who are prepared to work hard at expressing themselves clearly and precisely both orally and in writing.

The A Level course followed is that provided by AQA and covers the following content:

Year 12
Section A: Epistemology
This seeks to introduce students to one of the major areas in the history of Philosophy – Epistemology. In this section students examine issues such as where we acquire our knowledge from and whether we are born with some kind of innate knowledge – at birth is the mind a blank slate or ‘tabula rasa’? Does knowledge come through reason, experience or a combination of the two? Theories of perception such as Direct and Indirect realism and Idealism are also covered.

Section B: Moral Philosophy
This unit looks at answers to 2 main questions in the field of ethics – how do we decide what is morally right to do and what do we actually mean when we use the language of morality? Ethical theories encountered include: Utilitarianism, Kantian Deontological Ethics and Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics. Students will consider the issues with each of these theories as well as the strengths before moving onto consider the status of ethical language in philosophical discussions.

Year 13
Section A: Metaphysics of God
Four principle areas of the Metaphysics of God are covered:

The concept of God: what do people mean when they use the term God philosophically? Is it possible to have a coherent concept of a being that is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent? Can God be both outside time and involved in time? What are the problems with these attributes?
Arguments relating to the Existence of God: Ontological arguments, Design arguments and Cosmological Arguments
The Problem of Evil: how to reconcile God’s omnipotence, omniscience and supreme goodness with the existence of evil
Religious Language: what do people actually mean when they say they believe in God and how does our understanding of language affect this?

Section B: Metaphysics of Mind
The study of Metaphysics of Mind revolves around on key question: what is the relationship between the mental and the physical? This raises both metaphysical and epistemological questions concerning the mind: What is the mind? What is its place in nature? What is the relationship between mentality and physicality? How are mental states identified, experienced and known?

Wider Sixth Form Provision

Our wider Sixth Form provision provides students with opportunities to reflect on their own values and beliefs and those of others, through a range of activities, including:

Daily ‘Thought for the Day’ messages that are discussed with their tutors during weekly form time.
Timetabled SIL (Supervised Independent Learning) periods during which they are encouraged to reflect on academic, spiritual, social and moral themes.
Fortnightly ‘Moral Maze’ sections during Sixth Form assembly, prompting deep thinking and reflection, covering ethical, moral and spiritual dilemmas. Anchored in the school’s Christian heritage and values, reflecting that Christianity is the main religious tradition of Great Britain, the sections nevertheless draw on themes from all major religions and also non-religious perspectives, such as those of Humanists.
Weekly PSHE sessions include issues linked to social justice and equality; protected characteristics; gratitude and greed; empathy; living more sustainably; racism, radicalisation and online hate, resolving conflict and self-care.
Weekly involvement by all Year 12 students in local volunteering opportunities and acts of service through our SCS (Sport, Creativity and Service) programme.
Sixth formers leading, and engaging with, the work of the Equalities, Wellbeing, Charities and Environment committees.

Enrichment

Trips and competitions with which the department has been involved in recent years include:

Visit to Neasden Hindu Temple
Visit to St Paul’s Cathedral
Visit to the Buddhist Temple in Wimbledon
Visit to the South London Gurdwara
The NATRE Spirited Arts competition
Southwark Cathedral’s Post-16 conference

In addition we regularly encourage students to enter a range of essay competitions run by prestigious universities.

For all students, RE and Philosophy Drop-In runs every Tuesday lunchtime in room 22 with Mrs Craigmyle. The department’s Drop-In is designed to be a place where students can seek out further support or trouble shooting on a range of issues.

The department’s Philosophy, Religion and Ethics Society, which runs every Wednesday lunchtime in room 22, is also open to all. Here students are exposed to a range of questions: from should we ever eat animals to whether religion and politics should cross over.

Further Links
GCSE Religious Studies
A Level Philosophy