Religious Studies

6th Form at Philosophy of Religion Conference

 RS students from Years 12 and 13 joined hundreds of other 6^th Formers at a Philosophy of Religion conference on February 3^rd. Oxford Town Hall was filled to capacity to hear the eminent  Dr Peter Vardy and Professor Alister McGrath talk on key subjects such as the God of the Philosophers, miracles, death and eternal life and credulity and credibility. Each subject was covered in a jam packed session which deftly covered the issues in a way which was very relevant for A Level questions. Video extracts from interviews with other key figures such as Professor Richard Swinburne and Rev Dr Gerard Hughes added another dimension to the discussion.  Peter Vardy kept up a rapid pace and swept the gathering along with his usual energy, while Prof. McGrath added an element of humour with his reference to leprechauns.

The day finished with a debate entitled ‘This house believes that God could have created a better world, a world in which free beings always choose to do good’. Charlotte Vardy skilfully chaired this lively debate which was open to everyone. The heat raised by some of the student contributors making a welcome contrast to the super zero temperatures outside! OHS students all agreed it had been a very worthwhile day.

Connected Curriculum at the Pitt Rivers Museum

On Wednesday 28th September all of Year 8 enjoyed a trip to the Pitt Rivers museum and the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. This was part of a ‘connected curriculum’ day where Art, English, and Religious Studies came together.

The girls walked down to the museums through the parks in glorious sunshine and began by exploring and sketching the ‘ghost forest’ exhibition of trees outside. Then we split into groups and were led by the Pitt Rivers staff into the wonderful world of the museums. A particular focus of the trip was the collection of artefacts from the Haida people, including the iconic Pitt Rivers totem pole. This built on work the girls are doing in RS. In Art the girls are creating totem poles based on coil pots depicting animals that are important to them. The time in the two museums looking closely at how animals are depicted proved inspirational for this art project. For English, the girls were set to seek out (or perhaps be grabbed by) an object that ‘spoke’ to them, and they are now telling the stories of these objects as follow-up work in class.

In the afternoon the girls returned to school and, after a special lunch together, worked in house groups on a creative response to the stimulus of the morning. They created sculptures and presentations which reflected their shared values.

Feedback and evaluation of the day indicates that it was a great success and the girls enjoyed broadening their learning and making the most of the resources available to us in Oxford.

GCSE students visit the Oxford Vihara

GCSE students visited the Oxford Vihara in Abingdon Road. Our host, the Venerable Dhammasami (Abbot of Oxford Buddha Vihara) and his fellow monks made our girls very welcome.

They talked to the students about the beliefs of Buddhism, told them Buddhist stories and showed the girls Buddhist meditation techniques. They also answered frankly and openly questions from the students. We would like to thank everybody at the Vihara for hosting us.

GCSE students visit Pusey House

This term the GCSE students visited Pusey House in St Giles. Custodian Fr William Davage took the girls on a tour of the chapel and the library.

During the tour he showed the girls a rare Bible printed in 1500. We were joined by the Principal Fr Jonathan Baker and the girls had the opportunity to question the two priests about the issues they had been studying in their ethics module. A really rewarding and frank discussion took place over a wide range of issues (including wealth, poverty and the roles of men and women). We would like to thank everyone at Pusey House for hosting us.

GCSE students go to Rome

In October members of the Year 11 GCSE Religious Studies group joined members of the Classics Department on a six day trip to Rome.

The Religious Studies students went along to find out about pilgrimage. We visited the Vatican Museums, St Peter’s Basilica and followed the traditional pilgrimage route between the Pantheon and the Vatican. In our hotel girls met Australian pilgrims who were in Rome to celebrate the first Australian Saint.

The group also visited the Colosseum, where many early Christians were martyred. They went to the Church of St Clement (the 4th Pope) and the Cathedral of St Agapitus Martyr. Both of which were built on the sites of pre-Christian temples. On our last day we went to the Catacombs of St Sebastian, where both St Peter and St Paul were traditionally first laid to rest. Students were able to see where 1st century Christians gathered for worship.

With their friends from the Latin group, students visited the ancient Roman port of Ostia. The Religious Studies students were able to visit three 4th century churches and the ancient synagogue.