Religious Studies

News & Events

Year 7 go to Coventry Cathedral

In May the whole of year seven went to Coventry Cathedral. The girls enjoyed their guided tours in which they looked at the symbolism in the Church. They looked at the tapestries, the stained-glass windows, the font and the old Cathedral. The girls asked lots of good questions and challenged their guides to come up with very good answers. We would like to thank the guides of Coventry Cathedral for their help and for hosting us.

Philosophy A level

At the end of the Spring Term Miss Lusk made the announcement that we shall be offering AS and A level Philosophy from September 2010. The Religious Studies Department has looked at introducing this subject, as a sixth form option, many times during the last ten years. With the new four module AQA specification we felt the time was right to offer this course to our girls. The new course will probably be taught by Mr Packard and Miss Pallas-Brown (Mr Packard will continue to teach AS and A level Religious Studies alongside Mrs Townend). We are very excited about this initiative and look forward to 2010.

GCSE visit to Leicester and Brixworth

In February the Year 11 GCSE group went on a places of worship tour to Leicester and Brixworth. In the morning they visited the Shree Sanatan Mandir and were able to talk about the symbolism in the Mandir. After lunch in the grounds of Leicester Cathedral the girls visited the Jain Centre. The only building of its type outside India. Girls were fascinated by the different views Jains hold. We were then given a guided tour of the Cathedral and ended the day be going to the sixth century Church in Brixworth. A church in which King Offa worshipped. The tour was rounded off with tea and cakes at Brixworth. It was a very enjoyable day and we would like to thank all the people who made us so welcome in their places of worship.

A2 seminar by Dr Avramides

Dr Avramides, who teaches philosophy at Oxford University, gave a seminar to the year 13 Religious Studies group. She talked about the contrasting and complimentary ways in which philosophy and psychology approach the human mind. The girls were fascinated by what she had said, particularly the way in which her talk connected to previous talks they had had with Mary Warnock and Richard Dawkins. We would like to thank Dr Avramides for visiting the School to talk to the group.

Outstanding Performances in AS Religious Studies

Three sixth form Religious Studies students were amongst the highest scoring candidates in the June 2008 AS level. Out of 5919 entries, for EDEXCEL AS Religious Studies, Rebecca Hewstone, Rebecca Roberts and Mayumi Robinson were amongst the top ten who achieved the highest overall marks.

Mr Packard's Farmington Paper

Mr Packard's Farmington Paper on Religious Studies Today has been incorporated into the Oxford Brookes University PGCE Secondary Religious Education Subject Studies Reader. Farmington Papers are published by the Farmington Institute for Christian Studies at Harris Manchester College, Oxford. Other papers have been written by Elizabeth Ashton, Eileen Barker, John Hedley Brooke, David Cook, David Hay, John Habgood, Brian Hebblethwaite, Ursula King, Ian Markham, Peggy Morgan, Arthur Peacocke, John Polkinghorne, Michael Poole, John Rogerson, Ralph Waller and Mary Warnock. Papers are available by post from the Farmington Institute.

Baroness Warnock takes a lesson

Former Headmistress and internationally renowned philosopher Mary Warnock visited the School in June. As part of her day she spent a lesson with the Year 12 Religious Studies group. They discussed the nature of truth and different types of truth. The girls were fascinated by Lady Warnock's views and entered into a lively debate with their guest. We would like to thank Lady Warnock for spending time with the group.

Sixth Form Talk by Richard Dawkins

The three sixth form Religious Studies groups were invited by our colleagues at Magdalen College School to attend a lecture by Professor Richard Dawkins. He spoke about his latest book The God Delusion and the girls really enjoyed listening to him. They also took part in the question session that followed his talk. We would like to thank our colleagues at MCS for inviting our students.

Visitors

Three teachers from around Europe have visited the Department this summer. Wendy Faris visited from Northern Ireland to discuss ideas for the future of Religious Studies in the province. From Romania we were visited by Hrisante Bulugca, to compare teaching styles and she saw some very lively year nine girls discussing the apparent conflict between religion and science. Lea Hopkins, from Finland, visited as part of a six country project comparing the teaching of religion in a variety of European countries.

Members of the Department

Robert Packard, BA Hons (Lancaster), MA (Leicester)

Rachael Pallas-Brown, BA Hons, MSt, MLitt (Oxon)

Frances Townend, MA Hons (Oxon)

Mr Packard was appointed Head of Department in September 1998. He was previously Head of Department at the Robert Smyth School. He sat on the QCA 'National Subject Panel for A Level RS' (1996-1998) and on the SCAA 'Post-16 Guidance: RE Working Party' (1995). He currently sits on the Farmington sub-committee, which commissions and edits The Farmington Papers, and he has also reviews publications for RE Today. He has been an EDEXCEL A level examiner and an EDEXCEL in-service trainer. He is also Head of Sixth Form General Studies.

Miss Pallas-Brown was appointed in September 2006. She was previously Director of Studies at Cherwell College and had also been a Head of Department. She is Head of Sixth Form at Oxford High School. Mrs Townend was appointed in September 2007. She read theology at Oxford and took her PGCE at Cambridge. She taught at St Mary's School in Calne and has also worked in publishing at the Education Department of the Oxford University Press.

Mrs Townend was appointed in September 2007. She read theology at Oxford and took her PGCE at Cambridge. She taught at St Mary's School in Calne and has also worked in publishing at the Education Department of the Oxford University Press.

Facilities and resources

The department has two dedicated teaching rooms equipped with audiovisual and ICT facilities. It maintains an extensive collection of books, journals, videos, and DVDs. These are complemented by materials in the religious studies section of the school library.

Curriculum

Religious Studies is the world's oldest academic subject. It promotes awareness of other people, encourages empathy, and develops the ability to think rationally. These skills are prized, both by universities and by employers. They provide students with a firm foundation from which to continue their exploration of life.

Key Stage 3

The programme of study is based on the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's scheme of work.

Year Seven

Where do we look for God?
What does justice mean to Christians?
Ancient religions
Beliefs and practice
A visit to a place of worship
What are we doing to the environment?

Year Eight

Religious figures
Who was the Buddha?
What the Buddha taught
What does Jesus's Incarnation mean for Christians today?
What does the Resurrection of Jesus mean for Christians today?
Why do we suffer?

Year Nine

Current ethical issues
Festivals
Pilgrimage
Mysticism
Where did the universe come from?

GCSE

From September 2009:

GCSE students study Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Ethics (OCR Specification A).

Beliefs/Philosophy
Festivals/Pilgrimage
Divisions/Interpretations
Women/Marriage/Divorce
Medical Ethics
Poverty/Wealth

Up to June 2010:

GCSE students study Christianity and Hinduism as world religions (OCR Specification A).

Beliefs
Festivals
Divisions
Pilgrimage
Worship
Community
Scripture
Coursework

Other students follow a general course examining a range of ethical and philosophical issues.

AS and A-Level

Paper One: Foundations - Philosophy and Fourth Gospel

Philosophy:	Fourth Gospel:
Cosmological Argument	The role of women
Design Argument	Signs
The problem of evil	I Am Sayings

Paper Two: Investigations - Girls choose their own topic to study.

Paper Three: Developments - Philosophy and Fourth Gospel

Philosophy:	Fourth Gospel:
Ontological Argument	Prologue
Religious Experience	Purpose
Arguments against God	Jesus and the political
Religious Language	and religious authorities

Paper Four: Implications - Text study of modern philosophical papers.