Key Stage 3

Year 7

Term 1 – Beginnings (early Bible stories/moral aspects)

Students explore the concept of morals through studying early stories from Genesis such as Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Abraham and Isaac and Noah’s Ark. Applying what they have learnt, students are then set a group challenge to write, illustrate and present their own moral stories.

Term 2 – Sikhism (Origins, beliefs and practices)

Students will learn about the founder of the religion, the 10 Gurus, 5 K’s, The Khalsa,

Gurdwara, Birth, Marriage and Death rites as well as Diwali.

Term 3 – Faith and Courage (Study of key individuals)

This topic is a thematic one, starting with the exploration of the terms Faith and Courage and the application of them to the student’s own lives. Students learn about the story of Moses, including how Moses showed faith and courage in his life. They will then work on individual projects, researching and making a booklet about a key religious figure of their choice who showed faith and courage in their lives. Examples of individuals chosen are Anne Frank; Martin Luther King Jr; Gandhi; Nicky Cruz; Mother Theresa.

Year 8

Islam – exploring the foundations of the religion, learning about the key beliefs, practices and festivals of Islam.

Students learn about the life of the Prophet Muhammad, the 5 Pillars of Islam (Shahadah; Salah; Zakat; Sawm; Hajj), The Qur’an, the Mosque, Eid-ul-Adha and Eid-ul-Fitr, Food laws and Halal.

Christianity Today – an introduction to the moral issues of animal rights, origins of the world, the environment and poverty, whilst learning the Christian attitudes to these issues.  This unit includes a Citizenship assessment.

Year 9

Sept – Feb

Moral Issues – this builds on the moral issues covered in year 8. Students will explore the issues of  crime and punishment, abortion, euthanasia and war and peace. This is in preparation for the GCSE course. A Christian perspective will be analysed for all issues.

Feb – July

Buddhism – students will learn about the origins of Buddhism, and the main teachings regarding suffering and life after death.

Specific lessons study the life of Siddartha Gautama, The Enlightenment, The 3 Jewels, Four Noble Truths, Noble Eightfold Path, Meditation, Karma and the Wheel of Life. Part way through this unit, students will be put into groups for a group challenge, linking to Buddhist theories about the causes of suffering. Students explain and evidence examples of man-made and natural suffering; explore the root causes of suffering; discuss the reasons why some suffering might be necessary as well as investigating ways of reducing suffering. The unit ends with an individual project where students create their own wheel of life, reflecting some of the Buddhist principles and teachings, but applied to students’ own lives.