Religion, Philosophy and Ethics (RPE)

Introduction 

The twenty-first century is an exciting and challenging time in which to live. A greater awareness of different cultures, together with advances in science and technology, raise questions of identity (who we are), theology (what we can believe) and ethics (how we should behave). Religious Studies provides the opportunity to explore these questions from a range of perspectives and encourages pupils to learn skills of academic rigour: listening attentively to the opinions of others, assessing those arguments critically, and expressing their own ideas confidently. 

Lower School 

In the Lower School, pupils examine six major world religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism) one faith at a time, and have the opportunity to visit a variety of places of worship. Pupils in the Third Form are introduced to the study of Philosophy and Ethics through religion and morality. We cover topics such as arguments for and against God’s existence and seek to answer questions such as: ‘what makes an action right?’ or ‘is killing ever justified?’ 

GCSE 

At GCSE, pupils follow the Edexcel specification B course, which combines both philosophical and theological study (from a Christian and Muslim perspective). The first year consists of studying the ‘Christianity and Ethics’ unit, and the second year, the ‘Islam, Peace and Justice’. 

A Level 

At A Level, pupils have the option of taking Religious Studies or Philosophy. Both allow pupils to engage and grapple with significant philosophical and moral issues, such as whether the existence of evil disproves the existence of God or if lying can be good. The Philosophy A Level (AQA) is an argument-based approach which also tackles questions of what we can know and whether we are more than just the physical. The RS A Level (Edexcel) introduces pupils to textual analysis of the New Testament.