Religious Education
RE at st Richard’s
The RE curriculum is rich in knowledge and is structured around cumulative learning from Year 7. Pupils’ knowledge and understanding is deepened each curriculum year. The Religious Education Directory (2023) presents the Faith in a scheme of work that examines and magnifies the narrative of the Christian story- a history of salvation. The Key Stage 3 curriculum in turn leads to the GCSE curriculum which builds again on a knowledge of Catholicism, its beliefs, practices, sources of authority and forms of expression. Additionally, pupils then study a Philosophy and Ethics module which explores the philosophical arguments for God’s existence and moral issues around human sexuality in light of the Catholic tradition. Pupils also study the beliefs and practices of the Islamic faith.
The RE Curriculum
Students at St Richard’s have three lessons of RE a week with one homework set a week
Homework and assessment
Homework is set once a week for both KS3 and KS4.Each term, all years will complete an end of topic test. In addition, pupils will complete an essay style assessment
What our students say about RE…
“Personally, in my RE lessons I mostly enjoy how hard our teacher works to make sure we are all happy with what we are doing and gives us many opportunities each lesson to answer questions and much more.” Y8
“I really appreciate my teacher taking the time to help me with new things and putting me close to God.”
“My teacher is so passionate about her subject and always has some stories to share which makes it even more fun.”
Our last Diocesean inspection (Section 48) in November 2018 said:
“Pupils view Religious Education as one of their most important lessons. They respond with commitment to their learning. They benefit greatly from the range of teaching styles used by teachers, including debates, role play and paired working. They value their teachers highly. They develop excellent relationships based on trust and respect. One pupil said he enjoyed Religious Education because it went beyond knowledge and was ‘an education for life’.”
“Knowledgeable teachers who are passionate about the subject and inspired pupils to commit to learning. The pace and structure of lessons ensured that pupils were happy to engage and achieve.The school judges the overall quality of teaching in Religious Education as being outstanding and inspectors agreed that lesson observations, together with attainment and progress data in Religious Education, justify this view.”
WHAT OUR STUDENTS’ PARENTS HAVE SAID ABOUT RE…
“We are very grateful to be a part of such a caring school community which promotes key Christian and moral values to our children on a daily basis. It is a very special school with absolutely outstanding staff.
Many thanks for all your hard work.” – year 9 parent
“My son attends StRichards and loves the school. He also loves the religious side of the school and feels a part of the community there.” – year 10 parent
The report from our recent focus visit (March 2024) said
“Students were articulate at explaining how they achieve marks in RE assessments as well as how they make progress in their learning. The assessed work in exercise books showed that students have been given time to demonstrate the depth of their learning, and student groups spoke of the rigour of RE, suggesting that RE was at least as challenging as their other core subjects.”
St Richard's Mission Statement
Comitas, Scientia, Caritas
St Richard's Catholic College is a community where all are welcomed in the spirit of Christian love and respect. Our school encourages the wonder and joy of learning in order to ensure that every pupil reaches their full potential. We enable all to flourish and grow together in friendship and in faith.
We aspire to be courageous, having the integrity and the spiritual strength to make a positive difference in the world, both now and in the future. We endeavour to cherish our school motto of Community, Knowledge and Charity.
"I have come so that all may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)