It is impossible to understand, and therefore change, the society we live in without an education about religion and morality that is founded in philosophical thought. This can be seen in many ways such as how the sacred texts such as the Ten Commandments underpin our legal framework, mark our cultural identities through holidays and food or be inspiration for the great works of literature and arts. We believe that to effectively prepare our students for life in the culturally diverse modern world, of which 85% say they follow a religion, a carefully considered study of Religion, Philosophy and Ethics (RPE) will give them the tools to do so.
In RPE at Thorpe St Andrew School and Sixth Form, our students are encouraged to form their own carefully considered beliefs by developing the skills of analysis and evaluation through Key Stage Three. Our main focus between years seven and nine is the study of the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism. Christianity and Islam. We learn about their origins, similarities and differences and the impact these have on the believers. From this we can learn about our own values when considering the issues surrounding our individuality, community and responsibilities, which are our recurring themes. We apply these ideas to the themes of sacrifice, justice, animal rights, celebration, simulated killing and crime. Philosophically speaking, our exploration of the ideas of Plato and Aristotle on reality in year seven allows our students to skillfully analyse and evaluate ideas in these areas, leading to the questioning of whether or not God can ‘proven’ to exist.
At Key Stage Four, our GCSE option, we dive deeper in the religions of Christianity and Islam, their beliefs, teachings and practices of these faiths. The second part of the GCSE is the applied themes, where we study the topics of human relationships, life, war, crime and social justice in detail. In addition, there is provision for all students during their pastoral programme where once a week they will take some time to look at a topic. Our students will get an overview of the Eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism as well as philosophically consider the development of AI and the relationship between business and ethics. There are also two ‘Deep Thinking Mornings’ in year 10 where our students get to spend more time considering two important topics, Holocaust memorial (and its impact on belief in God) and refugees, asking the question ‘who is my neighbour and do I have a duty to help them?’
At Key stage Five, we offer students the chance to the AQA Philosophy A Level. This A Level is the foundation for studying analytic philosophy at university. The four units that make up the course are 1. Epistemology (What does it mean to claim I know something?) 2. Moral philosophy (Is there a correct way to act towards each other?) 3. Metaphysics of mind (Am I more than just my body) 4. Metaphysics of God (is the concept of the God of classical theism coherent?)
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