We believe through our teaching and our own example we can build an atmosphere of mutual respect for the beliefs of all students.

The Religious Education Department plays an integral part in the educational, spiritual and moral development of the students. It offers an opportunity for pupils to explore and celebrate their own beliefs, cultural background and moral viewpoint and those of other people within the school and local community.

In the RE department, we aspire to make RE a subject that students enjoy and look forward to, where everyone is treated equally and their views are respected, according to our Academy values. 

We want to enable students to grow as people: socially, morally, spiritually and culturally as well as improving their outcomes, literacy and oracy. This will enable them to grasp the contextual significance of current and historical events and moral dilemmas. Issues of life and death and right and wrong are the most important issues any human faces and we want to equip our students with the knowledge and skills to address these issues with understanding, open-mindedness and sensitivity. 

We aim to develop their knowledge and understanding of major world religions, as well as atheism and humanism, and their responses to big questions such as what happens when I die?’ and ‘how should I live my life?’ We will ensure students are religiously literate, understanding the foundational stories and beliefs of the Abrahamic faiths as well as Hinduism for an Eastern contrast. We desire to create an atmosphere of respect where we don’t just tolerate other people’s beliefs (even if they are different), but celebrate the fact that we live in a multi-cultural and multi-religious country like Britain. 

We aim to highlight the nuances within religious beliefs; essentially, helping students to understand that not all members of one religion believe the same thing and to highlight the diversity of belief through case studies of cultural Christians and secular Jews, for instance. We want students to explore ‘ways of knowing’ in RE and to approach it as a subject backed by academic disciplines such as archaeology and ethnography.  

Finally, we will guide our students to reflect on and justify their own balanced and informed opinions on important issues, helping them to challenge their own ideas and understand the ideas of others. Ultimately, this will enable them to achieve their full potential and be the best person they can be.