Religious Studies
Our Religious Studies lessons allow individuals to express their beliefs and explore any questions that they may have.
At Cottesmore we believe everyone is unique and should be treated equally. We are fully committed to ensuring that all pupils, no matter what their colour, creed or background, are given an equal chance.
Religious Studies is taught throughout the school and is not just about learning right and wrong. We recognise that a variety of teaching methods is necessary to ensure each individual’s strengths are met and therefore make every attempt necessary to vary our teaching strategies.
Teaching is geared to enable children to succeed at the Common Entrance and scholarship examinations to their senior schools. With the latest Common Entrance syllabuses demanding three full years to be covered, there is only a limited amount of flexibility.
The teaching of Religious Studies is from a Christian perspective and the course is principally a biblical one. The first form look at specific biblical stories. The second form cover overviews of the bible history. The third form looks at the Christianity syllabus required for the World Religions section of the CE course.
The remaining sections of the Common Entrance are covered in the final two years. In the penultimate year the set texts are analysed. They need to be known exceptionally well, with every detail understood and memorised. In the final year we take the set texts and focus on the contemporary issues which spring from them.
Those who are being prepared for scholarships have a course specifically tailored to the individual papers. The scholarships are extremely varied, and therefore the course can differ markedly.
In Religious Studies we aim to:
- Give pupils the opportunity to develop, or continue, their own beliefs and values for life
- Help individuals to develop his/her own identity
- Develop a respect for others religious beliefs and practice
- Stimulate and maintain pupils curiosity and interest in religion
- Enable pupils to see Religious Studies in the context of a wider body of knowledge and skills
- Contribute to the moral, social and ethical development of the pupils
- Enable pupils to work independently and as part of a team
- Develop pupils awareness of the implications of religion (past and present)
- Allow pupils to develop informed opinions and be able to support them
We expect to achieve the following objectives:
- Enable pupils to gain the necessary skills and knowledge to pass the Religious Studies Common Entrance paper, or individual Scholarship paper.
- Empower pupils to make balanced and informed choices and decisions with regard to moral & social issues & decisions; understand and use religious terminology and explanations.
- Encourage pupils to recall and apply their knowledge and skills in familiar and unfamiliar situations. Pupils should be able to obtain information and make reasoned judgements.
- To encourage pupils to develop a clear and more positive image of their own identity and self worth.