What will students be studying in RPE this year?
In Year 10 and Year 11 students will continue to work on the GCSE AQA Religious Studies A syllabus.
All GCSE content is examined at the end of Y11 – there is no coursework in RPE. Each paper will contain four sections. Each section has a common structure of one five-part question of 1, 1, 4, 6 and 12 marks. Each section is marked out of 24.
- Component 1: Religious Beliefs and Practices (Christianity and Islam)
- Component 2: Thematic Studies
Studying Religion, Philosophy and Ethics at Newstead Wood School at GCSE level provides students with an exciting opportunity to consider the big questions in life such as why we are here, matters of right and wrong and issues surrounding belief.
The full GCSE specification can be found here: Specification for first teaching in 2016: Specification
In Year 10 students will focus on Islamic Beliefs and Practices as part of Component 1 and ‘The Existence of God & Revelation’ and ‘Religion, Peace and Conflict’ as part of Component 2.
Within Islam Beliefs and Practices, students will explore common and divergent practices within the Sunni and Shi’a communities such as the ‘Five Pillars’ and ‘Ten Obligatory Acts’. They will also explore the origins of Islam and different sources of religious authority within the tradition.
In ‘The Existence of God and Revelation’, we explore philosophical arguments for and against God’s existence, as well as the nature of the divine and revelation. This will be studied with reference to Christianity and non-religious beliefs such as atheism and humanism.
Finally, the unit on ‘Religion, crime and punishment’ addresses Christian and Islamic teachings about causes of crime and the aims of punishment in society. Pupils will debate questions such as ‘is capital punishment ever justified?’ and ‘should prison aim to reform criminals rather than punish them?’
In Year 11 students will continue studying towards the GCSE qualification and complete the final two topics: ‘Christian Practices’, ‘Religion and Life’.
In their work on ‘Christian Practices’, pupils explore the meaning and importance of traditional sacraments (baptism and eucharist) and festivals such as Christmas and Easter. In ‘Religion and Life’, we explore issues ranging from abortion to animal rights.
What are the major assessments this year?
In addition to marked homework, pupils will have an end of unit assessment for each topic. This will take place during lesson time and will be completed under timed conditions. They will have 30 minutes to complete the assessment, which reflects the amount of time that they will have to answer on each section in the final exam. As students cover more content, these assessments will increase in length interleaving prior topics to ensure content is revised on a regular basis to support students in improving their writing under timed conditions.
Year 10 students will also have an internal exam during the summer term. This will reflect a full GCSE paper of 1hr 45mins and will contain 4 of the section’s students have studied thus far.
In Year 11 students will complete two mock examinations:
- Mock 1: This will reflect a full GCSE of 1hr 45mins containing Paper 1 content: Religious Beliefs and Practices (Christianity and Islam)
- Mock 2: This will reflect a full GCSE with students sitting a Paper 1 and Paper 2 to give them a full GCSE experience.
What will the current performance grade be based on, and what do the grades mean?
The current performance grade is based on all of the assessments and homework that they have completed to date. The grade provided reflects the GCSE grade that your daughter is currently working at.
What should my daughter do if she feels she is struggling in the subject?
In the first instance, she should speak to her subject teacher. She should try to identify specific areas of the subject which she is finding a challenge so that we can offer targeted support.
In addition:
- The website Home - RE:quest is a great starting point for addressing gaps in knowledge and revision. BBC Bitesize is also a useful resource.
- Seneca Learning has specific AQA Religious Studies quizzes and exam practice to support your daughter’s content retrieval and exam skills. This will also be set throughout the year as part of their homework tasks.
- Encourage your daughter to attend relevant intervention sessions during lunchtime or afterschool. Some of these may be invite-only.
- Ensure your daughter is able to access the RPE Student SharePoint which will have all lesson resources, example answers, past papers and specific revision activities to improve exam skill and structure.
How can I support my daughter?
Do try to engage your daughter in discussion by asking them their views on topical issues and encouraging them to fully justify their opinions using evidence, examples and specification content.
Ensure your daughter is engaging in regular revision and consolidation of content to keep prior learning ticking over. This could involve testing your daughter on key vocabulary from the specification using the AQA vocabulary lists on the RPE Student SharePoint or, creating knowledge organisers of the key content and relevant quotations for each section of the course.
The most effective revision for GCSE RPE is practising past papers and exam style questions under timed conditions. The exam is aimed at students being efficient in their responses, with limited time to convey both content and evaluative judgement. Example scripts from previous GCSE students are available on the RPE student SharePoint to support students in their essay structure.
What kind of independent work should my daughter be completing?
- Students are given regular independent homework to complete. These tasks are usually practice questions or research tasks and should take no more than 30 minutes to complete.
- When students’ homework and assessments are marked, they receive a number of targets and corrections and students should be proactive in responding to this feedback.
- Students should also keep abreast of contemporary issues in the news and discuss these topics with their friends and family outside of lessons.
- Students should engage with Seneca Learning on a regular basis to support their content retrieval and exam skills.
- Students should engage with the recommended KS4 Reading List to widen their understanding beyond that of the specification.
- Students should use the RPE SharePoint for additional revision activities, past papers, and resources. This will include plenty of activities for students to consistently consolidate and revisit prior learning to ensure they are confident in both the breadth and depth of the specification.
Who can I contact for further advice and information?
Please feel free to contact the Head of RPE, Ms A Karmock-Golds, at akarmockgold@newsteadwood.co.uk with any specific queries.
If you wish to withdraw your daughter from all or some RPE lessons, please contact your daughter's Head of Year.