With the majority of our students coming from a largely secular background, the study of RE plays a vital role in preparing them for social life in the wider word, where there is an increasing range of religious and non-religious beliefs.  The impact of a lack of tolerance goes against the values that we hold at Upper Wharfedale School and against the values we hold in Britain, therefore the core values of tolerance and respect for other beliefs are a strong theme in RE lessons.  The subject is invested in provoking challenging questions about meaning and purpose in life, beliefs about God (through the NATRE Spirited Arts competition), ultimate reality, issues of right and wrong and what it means to be human.  The units explored at Key Stage 3 build on the RE work done at KS2 and KS1, as informed by the locally agreed syllabus. The curriculum is currently in a transition period as a result of the updated 2019 North Yorkshire agreed syllabus, which will mean that all units of study fall into the strands of Believing, Expressing or Living, further encouraging the cohesiveness of the RE curriculum between KS2 and KS3. The topics chosen as part of the Key Stage 3 curriculum are based on discussions with subject leaders at local RE network meetings, and based on an understanding of our students, and the topics that they will find engaging or relevant in their own lives. The beliefs covered at KS3 over the last few years have included Christians, Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus. However from 2020, students will look at Buddhist rather than Hindu beliefs to reflect the change in the North Yorkshire syllabus, and Buddhism’s atheist focus – which are more closely aligned to the views of the majority of our students.  

Diversity of thoughts and beliefs are encouraged in the classroom, so that students can understand that not everyone will share their viewpoints (including diversity within and between people of the same and different religions). A key element of the study of RE at Key Stage 3 incorporates encounters with living faiths rather than solely the history and belief structures of traditions, which allows students the opportunity to understand the impact of religion in the lives of people today.  The opportunity for dialogue through discussions and debates is embedded within lessons, so that students can develop an aptitude for effective communication – thus giving them the skills necessary to participate positively in our society with its diverse religions and worldwide views. 

These skills are further honed at Key Stage 4, where there is a clear emphasis on evaluating ethical questions from a Christian, Muslim and non-religious perspective.  These questions include issues around abortion, euthanasia, animal rights as well as the importance of justice, the just war theory and pacifism. Using the skills and knowledge acquired at Key Stage 3, students tackle these meaningful questions and build on their evaluation skills by listening, debating and understanding a range of perspectives on these issues. As part of the unit on Death and Afterlife in the Key Stage 3 curriculum, students look at how death is viewed in other cultures (including the Mexican day of the Dead), explore their own views about death, and question the possibility of an afterlife, which is then built upon at key stage 4, when students tackle this deeper with topics such as abortion and euthanasia and the value of human life. The religion of Islam in addition to Christianity is looked at during key stage 4 for a number of reasons. This is partly due to the makeup of the school (the number of students from a Muslim background compared to other religions), but also due to Islam being a religion which often receives a lot of negative media attention and is usually misrepresented and therefore misunderstood. The peace and conflict theme is an ideal way to explore this religion, as it helps students explore misconceptions from within and outside the classroom.  

Student voice as part of the SEF is a way of highlighting topics that students have enjoyed, which can help influence the way the content is taught. Additionally a student voice activity involving a range of year 9 students at Upper Wharfedale took place in December 2018 with the North Yorkshire Equalities Provider which further highlighted that students enjoy looking at a diverse range of beliefs (e.g. the Mexican Day of the Dead).   

The department is led by the Subject Leader for RE who teaches all classes with timetabled RE. To ensure curriculum quality, the department has forged links with the RE departments at King James School in Knaresborough, Dixons McMillan in Bradford and St Christopher’s school in Bahrain; in addition to attendance of Subject Network meetings in North Yorkshire and the NATRE Annual conference.  

The impact of RE at Upper Wharfedale School can be seen through the comments from present and past students. There have been a number of our students who have gone on to careers such as medicine, the police service, and nursing and have found RE important in engaging them with thinking about ultimate questions that have steered their post 16 subject and career choices.  A student who has gone on to become a midwife recently got in touch to say that questions such as, ‘When does life begin?’, and ‘Is all life sacred? helped her to decide that she wanted to train as a midwife. Additionally students from our farming community have commented that they particularly enjoy learning about stewardship and tackling questions linked to animal rights.  

Following the trip to the Gurdwara in 2018, the percentage of students who stated that they understand and appreciate the valuable work done by religious communities increased to 95%. Pupil voice highlighted the importance of the learning with comments such as “I found out many different things that I didn’t know before about the Sikh religion and Indian culture. It also showed me the way equality is put into practice with the principle of the langar”. And “When we entered the Gurdwara we had to take off our shoes, and this felt different because on school trips we rarely take our shoes off”. “I personally enjoyed the trip a lot – I learnt lots about Sikhism and it felt like a privilege being guided by a Sikh in the Gurdwara.”  

The RE department remains committed to allowing students the opportunities to learn about and from religion in a safe and respectful environment.