Ratcliffe-College-Key-Stage-3-Handbook-2016-2017

Religious Studies
What you will study:
As a Catholic School, Religious Studies is a fundamental part of our curriculum.
It is a compulsory subject for all students and each student will have five
periods of Religious Studies every fortnight. The aim of Religious Studies in
KS3 is for students to learn about and from religion, gaining a good grounding in
knowledge and understanding of religion as well as the ability to think about and
make important decisions based on this knowledge and understanding.
In Year 7-9 students follow schemes of incorporating key elements of the ‘The
Way, The Truth, The Life’ programme and also following the Curriculum
Directory prescribed by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales. The
content focuses mainly on Christian concepts, with specific emphasis given to
the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Other world religions are also
considered in some detail.
The following topics are amongst those to be covered:
Year 7
- Antonio Rosmini and the Rosminian order
- The order of the Mass
- The importance of the Bible for Christians
- Stories and themes in the Old Testament (e.g. Creation, Abraham, Moses,
the prophets)
- Hinduism
Year 8
- The life, death and resurrection of Jesus
- Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Reconciliation and Anointing of the
sick
- Holy Week and Easter
- The importance of Peter and Paul
- Islam
Year 9
- The history of Christianity (e.g. Persecution Celtic saints, the
Reformation, Christian unity)
- Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders
- The importance of the Ten Commandments in Christian life
- Justice and Poverty
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