Members of Department

Miss A. Keenan Head of KS5 RE
Mrs. J. Fitzsimons Head of KS4 RE
Ms E.McIlduff Head of KS3 RE
Mrs B Mc Laughlin
Mrs E Burns
Ms K Murphy
Mrs A Smith

Aims of the Department

Ever mindful of our school motto Ora et Labora teachers in the Religious Education department aim to support the faith and spiritual development of our students.

Our aim is very much focused on the student and their enjoyment of this subject alongside maintaining high academic standards whilst developing pupil thinking skills.

Key Stage 3 - Religious Education

The Irish Catechetical Programme as published by Veritas is followed by all Key Stage 3 pupils. As part of the Fully Alive programme key themes such as morality, Advent, Christmas and Easter are revisited each year. Over the course of the Key Stage, pupils are introduced to some critical matters in Christian belief, which they learn to evaluate.

Yr 8 pupils start the course by learning about the Bible, they also study the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist. Much of the year will be given over to learning about the World, Life and Ministry of Jesus.

Yr 9 students learn about the story of creation, God s covenant, Luke s Gospel, the World of Judaism, Christianity today: with a focus on the Methodist and the Roman Catholic Churches.

Yr 10 pupils learn about the sanctity of life and some challenges to this such as prejudice and discrimination. They also learn about friendship with God and others, St. Paul and some key Muslim beliefs and practices. In the final term, Mark s Gospel is introduced to Yr10 students to prepare them for GCSE Religious Studies. A cross curricular ICT task requires the pupils to demonstrate their online collaboration skills in creating a Google doc saved on the VLE.

All junior school pupils take great pride in their journal in which they are asked to record their classwork and homework.

Key Stage 4 - Religious Studies GCSE

Religious Studies is a compulsory subject at GCSE level. It is one of the most successful GCSE subjects with many students achieving A*-A grade and opting to take it on for A level.

The CCEA GCSE Religious Studies course was offered to our students for the first time in September 2016. The specification changed again in September 2017 with similar teaching units. We aim to keep up our astounding results at GCSE with this teaching board which is very much focused on the student and their enjoyment of this subject.

GCSE Religious Studies is designed to encourage students to be inspired, moved and changed by following a broad, satisfying and worthwhile course of study that challenges young people and equips them to lead constructive lives in the modern world.

This specification provides particular opportunity for Roman Catholic/Christian studies whilst also having the support of a wide range of faith groups.

Scheme Of Assessment The scheme of assessment is MODULAR. There is NO coursework.
Written Examinations: Comprises TWO papers - 1 hour 30 minutes each unit.

Aims We offer our students the following units of study.

Year 11: Students will study

Unit 5 Christianity through a Study of the Gospel of Mark
The specification continues certain themes which are as follows:

• The Identity of Jesus;
• Jesus the Miracle Worker;
• The Kingdom of God;
• The Death and Resurrection of Jesus; and
• The Role and Nature of Christian Discipleship.

Year 12: Students will study:

Unit 6 An Introduction to Christian Ethics
This unit aims to introduce students to ethics within the study of religion.

Students study the following themes:

• personal and family issues,
• matters of life and death,
• developments in bioethics
• contemporary issues in Christianity
• modern warfare

Awarding Grade Student s results will be reported on a nine grade scale:

A*, A, B, C, C*, D, E, F and G.

Key Stage 5 (GCE)

A Level Religious Studies is one of the most popular subjects chosen in Our Ladys and there is a great enthusiasm to study it.

Students follow the CCEA AS & A2 Religious Studies course and three modules are offered at A Level. These modules include Luke and a Study of the Synoptic Gospels, Medical and Global Ethics and Philosophy. Students will study two of these modules.

Religious Studies is taught by a dynamic, passionate and hard-working Department who want their students to inform themselves, reflect on and engage with contemporary issues, hence there is a strong emphasis on independent study.

The results achieved by our students have consistently been above the Northern Ireland average. Some of our students go on to study Theology or Philosophy at third level and others have transferred the skills they have learned during their Religious Studies A level to pursue a myriad of careers.

Careers and Religious Education

The Religious Education department believes that R.E is education for life. It has a valuable role in the curriculum as it is concerned with forming personal values relevant to the world we live in for the world we live in.

Pupils studying Religious Education are given the opportunity to develop key ideas, skills and attitudes which employers in the 21st century are looking for.

The following are important skills which pupils are encouraged to develop:

• Critical analysis
• Coherent thinking
• Independent thinking
• Careful decision making
• Clear presentation
• Ability to make reasoned arguments
• Ability to articulate thoughts in a coherent and compelling manner
• Respect for others
• Tolerance of others
• Empathy
• Working with others

These skills which are introduced at KS3 are invaluable in providing a solid background for GCSE, A.S and A.2 Religious Studies. The department s success at both GCSE and A2 level has meant that our students have gone on to study many worthwhile and challenging courses and has been instrumental in developing their career path.

Teaching Careers

Careers is taught in an organic manner across the department and is mapped on individual Key Stage syllabuses. It is adaptable and fluid depending on the course being taught, and its relevance to careers.

Possible careers teaching opportunities:

Key Stage 3- In the first term of Year 10, pupils study a unit of work entitled Who does God want me to become? The primary aim is to offer students the opportunity to develop their awareness of how they should use their abilities to build up God's Kingdom whilst at the same time instilling the importance of responding to God s call to live out the Gospel values in the circumstances of their daily lives at home and through future career choices.

Choices booklet given to Year 10s highlighting the aims of RE and its relevance at GCSE with possible careers options.

Key Stage 4

Year 12 - depending on careers week in school teachers focus on an aspect of the Ethics course which can be used to highlight career paths through studying RE. Students google/research appropriate careers paths using their specific skills/talents in RE.

A-Level
The Choices Conference in Year 12 outlines the career paths of other students who have studied Religious Studies. Careers display Where Are They Now? allows students to see what courses/universities/world of work past Religious Studies students have followed.

Careers Value

Religious Studies is as demanding as any other humanities subject, developing pupils understanding of the world we live in. It is respected by employers and is an important subject in preparing pupils for higher education institutions/universities.

Students studying Religious Studies have tended to follow careers in the following fields:

Teaching, Law, Medicine, Accounting, Business management, Journalism/ Media, Nursing, Counselling, Humanities, Social Sciences.