Religious Studies

Events

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.

GCSE visit to the Mandir in Neasden

The year ten and eleven GCSE groups visited the Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, in Neasden, London.  The groups were able to explore the Mandir, visit an exhibition on the history of Hinduism and they had the opportunity to take part in a question and answer session on Hinduism.  The girls really enjoyed the visit and we would like to thank the staff of the Mandir for hosting us.

GCSE Ramayana Play

The year ten GCSE girls put on a production of the Ramayana.  They performed brilliantly and their friends in year ten provided an excellent audience.  It has been such an enjoyable way to learn the story and to explore its meaning.

Year 7 go to Coventry Cathedral

    

In July 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.


Year 13 Attend Dinner to Celebrate the Tri-Centenary of Wesley's Birth

The Year 13 Religious Studies group were invited to attend Formal Dinner at Harris Manchester College, Oxford, on Monday 5th March. They attended Evensong, a Champagne Reception and Dinner as part of the celebrations of the three-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Charles Wesley.

It was a wonderful event attended by such famous Oxford figures as Sir Roger Bannister. The girls had a wonderful time and we would like to thank the Principal of the College, the Revd Dr Ralph Waller, for hosting the group.

    


Year 10 GCSE Students attend the Opening Night of the “Mahabharata”

Both year ten GCSE Religious Studies groups went to the Oxford Playhouse on Tuesday 19th June to attend the opening night of the new Gita Productions & Saler’s Wells dance performance of the Hindu sacred text the Mahabharata.  This new show had its world premiere in April and stuck quite closely to the original text.  The girls really enjoyed the lively and colourful performance.


Congratulations

The Department offers its warmest congratulations to both Miss Griffey and Mr Shilling on the completion of their P.G.C.E. courses.  Mr Shilling was with the Department in the Autumn and Miss Griffey was with us for her final placement this summer.  We wish both of them well as they embark on their teaching careers.


Visitors

Three teachers from around Europe have visited the Department this term.  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.


GCSE Religous Studies Places of Worship Visit to Leicester

On Wednesday 21st February the four GCSE Religious Studies groups visited Leicester to visit places of worship. In the morning they went to the Shree Sanatan Mandir and in the afternoon they visited the Jain Samaj Europe. Both visits were enormously interesting and we would like to thank our hosts for inviting us. The girls ask really searching questions and our guides responded with very detailed answers.


Personnel

Full-time members of the Department:
Robert Packard, BA Hons (Lancaster), MA (Leicester)
Rachael Pallas-Brown, BA Hons, MSt, MLitt (Oxon)

Part-time members of the Department:
Angela Finch, BSc Hons (London)
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 reviewed publications for RE Today. He has been an EDEXCEL A level examiner (1993-2003) and acted as an EDEXCEL in-service trainer (1994-2000). 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 Head of Department. She is Head of Sixth Form at Oxford High School.

Mrs Finch has thirteen years experience of teaching KS3 Religious Studies. She is Head of Careers and has been awarded the ACGEG qualification. She has a diploma in Counselling.

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 unversities 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

Year Eight

Year Nine

GCSE

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

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

AS and A-Level

We study the philosophy of religion, the Fourth Gospel, and life after death. Students also do coursework. (Edexcel's new four module specification)

Philosophy of religion

The Fourth Gospel