Religious Education
At La Retraite Religious education plays an important and central role on the curriculum. This reflects the core Catholic ethos of the school. Our curriculum shows our desire for our students to explore Christianity and the key questions of the Catholic faith in depth and also so instil a sense of tolerance and open-mindedness for other faiths and beliefs to become a valuable member of the multi-cultural society in which we live.
Year 7
Following the advice of the Religious Education Curriculum Directory (RECD) for Catholic schools, students will begin to develop an in depth understanding of the Bible and its literary forms. They will consider its influence and impact on the world. Moving on, students will complete an extensive study of the public ministry of Jesus Christ. They will explore extraordinary records of Jesus’ life by examining his parables, miracles and encounters with the marginalised before reflecting on the Catholic duty to put faith into action.
Students will then explore the events leading up to the death of Jesus Christ and consider its impact and importance before moving on to an in-depth study of Mary. In the following term, students will focus on how Christianity has shaped the modern world, it’s laws and its culture by surveying church history. They will look at why the Councils of the Church met to address theological questions and as result will be introduced to religious and philosophical language.
This will be followed by a focus on the Sacraments, providing students with an understanding of their importance for the Catholic Church. Finally, in the summer term we will conclude with a study of Hinduism - Looking at its origins and how it was developed. They will explore the cultural difference whilst considering Hindu philosophy about life, death and the afterlife. The aim is to enable students to become religiously literate and to build up accurate knowledge of the complexity and diversity which exists today.
Year 8
Students will begin the term by looking at Judaism. They will look at why the city of Jerusalem is important for Jewish people and will begin to appreciate and understand ideas about the Messiah. Whilst considering how Jews worship, they will also look at how Judaism survived under extreme persecution over the course of its long history to help them appreciate British values such as individual liberty, tolerance and democracy. Leading on from this, students will complete a comprehensive study on some of the minor and major prophets in the Bible and look at Covenants.
They will then move onto exploring creation and the various interpretations. Following the advice of the RECD in the lead up to Easter, students will learn about Holy week which will enrich their understanding of the significance of salvation and the role of grace. Students will begin to understand the relevance of festivals in Britain as they delve deeper into the events that led up to the death of Jesus Christ. Then students will examine the dramatic events that led to the beginning of Islam and how it spread through Arabia. This is to provide students with insight to what they will be studying at GCSE whilst also developing their ability to evaluate and analyse, skills that are essential at Key Stage 4.
In the final term students will complete a unit on Relationships & Sex Education entitled ‘Made for Love’. This will explore topics such as love, marriage, contraception and pornography from a Catholic perspective. This is to provide a safe environment for students to explore issues in line with the school’s Catholic identity whilst also exploring some of the content that will come up at GCSE.
Year 9
At the start of year 9 students will begin to look at Morality and Ethics and will start to consider how we should live our lives and how we determine what is right and wrong. In these areas we present the Catholic viewpoint to help students judge what is morally acceptable or unacceptable but in addition to this, it gives students an insight into what they would potentially study at A-level.
Moving forward, students begin to explore Human Rights and Social Justice and why all countries are legally required to uphold the Universal Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They will look at how these rights reflect Christian principles such as ‘love thy neighbour’ and will look at the concepts such as imago dei and how it has influenced Catholic Social Teachings. Following on from this, there will be a comprehensive study of Mark’s account of Jesus’ life and teachings. Students will consider the background, its nature and purpose for Christians in the 1st and 21st century. They will examine the events and some of the significant portrayals of Jesus Christ as Messiah, Man and Son of God. The outcome of which is to deepen their understanding and knowledge whilst introducing evaluative questions to test student’s ability to give opinions and argue from differing viewpoints so that they are prepared for the GCSE.
Towards the end of the year, they will start their GCSE, studying the Islamic Beliefs and Practices unit. We have chosen Islam over Judaism because of the increasing number of Muslims in our school. In addition to this, for those that may be unfamiliar with the religion of Islam, this will allow them to gain an in-depth understanding and build on their knowledge of other religious faith groups.
Years 10 & 11
We teach Catholic Christianity (spec B) AQA in line with the directives of the Bishops conference of England and Wales for Catholic schools. As a Catholic school, students receive a detailed education in Catholic belief and teaching.
In addition, we teach themes. Theme A: ‘Religion, Relationships & Families and the other is Theme B: ‘Religion, Peace & Conflict’ as we feel these are most relevant to our students.
We have chosen to use the AQA B specification as it is well structured to meet the needs of our students and the requirements of the Diocese. Students have access to how Catholic Christianity plays a fundamental role in society, and are able to develop valuable, transferable skills for further study. The specification enables students to study different religious and non-religious responses to Christian thought.
It also gives the students the opportunity to study different ethical viewpoints, which can encourage and prepare them for further study. AQA B allows for the study of another religion (of which we have chosen Islam) helping students nurture their values and attitudes towards other faiths.