Religious Education at Durham Johnston Comprehensive School
“It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.”
Aristotle
Religious Education at Durham Johnston forms part of the core curriculum. In Years 7-11, RE is delivered to all students for one period per week, in line with the statutory requirement for all students nationally to receive religious education. At Durham Johnston, all religious and non-religious worldviews are respected and the RE classroom provides a safe space to explore profound and important questions about life, meaning and purpose. RE is delivered in a creative, innovative and engaging manner, with a particular focus on helping promote students’ personal development, empathy and cultural capital. The RE Department recognises the unique role it plays in helping prepare our young people for life in modern Britain. In addition to the important life skills that are developed in the subject, RE is also a rigorous and challenging academic discipline in its own right; the subject develops students’ literacy, verbal reasoning skills and critical thinking.
RE follows a specially tailored course at Key Stage 3 which explores the monotheistic faiths, eastern religions, sacred texts and ethical decision-making. At Key Stage 4, the department delivers AQA GCSE Specification A, which focuses on Christianity, Judaism and a range of philosophical and ethical themes including sexual ethics, issues relating to abortion and euthanasia, human rights and social justice. All students are entered for GCSE and further details about the exam specification can be found here. The A Level in Religious Studies focuses on philosophy of religion, ethics and developments in Christian theology. The department follows the OCR specification; further details can be found here. Many of our students go on to read Theology or Philosophy at prestigious universities including Oxbridge and the Russell Group.
The RE Department aims for all students to:
- Make sense of a range of religious and non-religious worldviews
- Understand the impact and significance of religious and non-religious worldviews on how people live, make moral choices and discover meaning in life
- Express with increasing discernment their personal reflections and critical responses to questions and teachings about religious identity, diversity, meaning and value, including ethical issues
- Gain and deploy the skills needed to engage seriously with religions and worldviews, so that they can enquire into what enables different individuals and communities to live together respectfully for the wellbeing of all
- Articulate beliefs, values and commitments clearly in order to explain why they may be important in their own and other people’s lives
To achieve these aims the RE Department has:
- Developed schemes of work and resources that are engaging, relevant and thought-provoking, reflecting the diverse religious landscape of life in modern Britain.
- Designed lessons that challenge all students, providing breadth and depth of subject-specific and transferable knowledge and skills.
- Teachers who are subject specialist theologians and philosophers (some of whom are also experienced GCSE and A Level examiners), who are keen to inspire our students in RE lessons.
- Created a learning environment where questioning, critical thinking and the freedom to learn from mistakes are encouraged. RE opens up students to learning from the beliefs and practices of others and helps promote social cohesion and an inclusive society.
- Provided opportunities for all students to engage with RE beyond the classroom e.g. through the weekly Philosophy and Ethics Club.
