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Year 9 met with Sherab, a Buddhist Monk

Religious Studies and Philosophy

Central Newcastle High School's Religious Studies and Philosophy Department offers both Philosophy and Religious Studies as from Year 7.  This provides an enjoyable experience and invaluable skills which will accompany girls throughout their academic life.

These subjects are vital to the education of any young person, and everyone should have the opportunity of such study.  These are inspirational subjects: they encourage independent thought, a questioning approach, the development of high levels of moral awareness and self-esteem and are also a sound preparation for the world outside school.  Religious Studies encourages the exploration of different religions and beliefs, and helps to foster mutual respect and tolerance towards others.  Both subjects encourage listening to each other's views, and the broadening of horizons.  Pupils learn to see life from different perspectives, and to build structured arguments in defence of their own views.

In Religious Studies at Key Stage 3, pupils are introduced to Biblical Scholarship and tackle themes such as Life After Death, the Nature of God, and questions of morality through a range of World Religions.  In Philosophy, they study the concept of Happiness, Arguments For and Against the Existence of God, the concept of Proof and Evidence, Philosophy and Science, and a range of philosophers and their theories.

At Key Stage 4, pupils can choose to study full course GCSE where they take Ethics and Philosophy of Religion Papers.  Results are consistently outstanding, with 100% of Full Course students achieving A or A* in 2008.  All students now study AS Critical Thinking in Years 10 and 11, which further develops some key philosophical skills such as argument and analysis through a range of different contemporary issues.

In the Sixth Form, girls can choose to study Religious Studies and/or Philosophy at AS and A Level.  In Philosophy, Ethics, Epistemology, Political Philosophy, Aesthetics and set texts are studied. In Religious Studies, students explore Religion, Art and the Media, Ethics, and Philosophy of Religion.

Minister Davey Falcus with our GCSE Pupils

Various teaching and learning styles are used at every level.  Pupils might do essays, role play, oral presentation, group discussion, projects, community of enquiry, or ICT based tasks.  Sixth Formers attend Conferences on their A Levels topics, and we try to ensure we offer a wide range of enrichment opportunities to help further understanding in a less formal setting.  For example, a Buddhist monk came into school last year to do a series of meditation sessions with Year 9 pupils, as did North-East minister Davey Falcus, a former gangster who spoke to GCSE students about his conversion experience.  As part of their study of Religion and Art, we are arranging a series of visits to various galleries and places of worship for A Level students, and are hoping to take a party of girls to Rome next year. We have also brought learning alive for Year 7 students through a trip to Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat, and run a Film Club for Sixth Form students in which we explore some of the issues tackled in class in a more relaxed setting through movies such as 1984, The Butterfly Effect, V for Vendetta and Flatliners.

These are popular, fascinating and exciting subjects.  Every year we have girls who apply to university, including Oxford and Cambridge, to pursue these subjects or to combine them with others.  Philosophy works well with both the Arts and Sciences, and many pupils go on to study Law or Medicine.  Philosophy and Religious Studies are fast growing subjects in public examination terms.   The transferable skills gained are very valuable, and ex pupils have gone on to a very broad range of careers. 

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