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Department Ethos:
Religious Studies allows students to understand the religious and non-religious belief systems and worldviews that are represented in the local community, and the wider world, and relate these to their own views and beliefs.
As a department, we aim to ensure that students have a thorough grasp of the religious and non-religious belief systems and worldviews present in the UK and how they affect, and are affected by, modern life and social issues.
Religious Studies at Trinity is taught by a team of specialist teachers who collaborate to plan and resource the curriculum, drawing upon their own areas of particular specialism and expertise. This allows our students to receive an enriching curriculum which goes beyond the syllabus and specification, responding to the community and world around them and new developments within the religions, beliefs systems and worldviews studied such as considering responses to LGBTQ issues and the relationship between religion and science.
Teachers have a strong subject knowledge and have sought to build on this through collaboration with other subject specialists through the West Berkshire network for secondary religious studies teachers. Also, as part of the Humanities Department, teachers have had the opportunity create cross – curricular links with other subjects, for example with Geography when planning lessons on Christian responses to environmental issues or with History when teaching responses to conflict, to further enrich the curriculum.
By the end of the course, we feel students will have a vastly better understanding of Religion and its place in history and modern society, something that is becoming of increasing importance in the current multi-faith climate of the UK and the world. Our Religious Studies teachers facilitate this.
At KS3 Trinity School follows the guidance set out in the Pan-Berkshire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education to structure the teaching of Religious Studies. Students will study all 6 major world religions in Chronological order to allow them to gradually deepen their knowledge of how religions develop after a short unit introducing some of the common features of Religious Structures. At the end of KS3 Students will also be introduced to other worldviews such as Humanism that provide an alternative approach to spirituality.
Year 7:
Christianity
Year 8:
At GCSE Trinity School offers the AQA Religious Studies A specification with the two focal religions being Christianity and Judaism. Students will study the following units which are examined at the end of Year 11 grouped into two exam papers.
Paper 1 (the study of Religion):
Paper 2 (Non-Textural Thematic Studies):
At A Level Trinity School offers the OCR Religious Studies specification with the focal religion being Christianity. This specification allows students to develop in-depth knowledge of the linked fields of Philosophy, Ethics and Theology over the two years of the course through the study of the units set out in the table below for each of the three components. At the end of the course students will be assessed through three exam papers, one for each component.
Year 12:
Philosophy of Religion.
Religion and Ethics.
Developments in Christian Thought (Theology).
Year 13:
Philosophy of Religion.
Religion and Ethics.
Developments in Christian Thought (Theology).
Extra-curricular opportunities and trips.
Students will have the opportunity throughout their time at Trinity to experience real life testimony from religious believers and tours of religious buildings, currently this will be virtually using the resources provided by the West-Berkshire SACRE and will include local faith leaders and locations. It is hoped that in future it will be possible for students to visit some of the local places of worship in the community to experience the diversity of faith that surrounds them.
Starting this year students will also be able to join the RS and English departments to debate and discuss religious and philosophical issues during a lunchtime club.