Upper Shirley High School

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Key Stage 4

At KS4, all students take a GCSE Religious Studies short course. This course is based on philosophy and ethics and students build on their learning in KS3. Students tend to enjoy this course because of the interesting and challenging material, and results in previous years have been good with a large number of A and A* grades. The course enables student to:

Discuss and debate important issues
Think and reflect on values and beliefs
Actively participate in teaching and learning

TOPICS:

Philosophy: Deity, Religious and Spiritual End of Life:

- Beliefs about God – Does God exist?

- Miracles

- Concept of worship

- Death and the Afterlife

Applied Ethics: Relationships, Medical Ethics, Poverty and Wealth:

- Marriage, divorce, contraception

- Abortion, Euthanasia, Suicide

- Poverty, wealth, gambling, charity

Assessment:

100% Religious Studies Written Paper –Short Course GCSE (2 hours)

The topics are taught from a Christian perspective, but it is possible to answer the questions from any of the following religious perspectives: Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism or Buddhism.

Why is Religious Studies important at KS4?

Employers value people who understand and tolerate cultural diversity in our multi-cultural society.
It links into future study of any humanities of social science based subject.
It is useful for any job that involves working with people.