PHILOSOPHY & ETHICS
Department Vision
The vision of the Philosophy and Ethics department is to engage pupils in systematic enquiry into significant human questions which religion and worldviews address, so that they can develop the understanding and skills needed to appreciate and appraise varied responses to these questions, as well as develop responses of their own in 21st Century Britain and the World.
A student friendly version of this is:
‘Philosophy and Ethics explores big questions about life, to find out what people believe and what difference this makes to how they live, so that you can make sense of religious, philosophical and ethical ideas and reflect on you own ideas and ways of living.’
Year 7
Year 7
| Cycle | Enquiry Question | Worldviews | Disciplines |
| A | What difference does it make to believe in Judaism? | Judaism | Theology/Social Science |
| B | Does religion help people to be good? | Christianity and non-religious views E.g Humanism | Theology |
| C | What is good and what is challenging about being a teenage Muslim in Britain today? | Islam | Theology/Social Science |
| D | Do we need proof of God’s existence? | Christianity and non-religious views | Philosophy |
Year 8
Year 8
| Cycle | Enquiry Question | Worldviews | Disciplines |
| A | What difference does it make to believe in Sikhism? | Sikhism | Theology/Social Science |
| B | How can a religion impact a believer without a God? | Buddhism | Theology |
| C | Is religion a power for peace of a cause of conflict in the world today? | Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Sikh, non-religious e.g. Humanism | Social Science/Philosophy |
| D | What is the impact of religion on human expression? | Buddhist, Christian and Islam | Social Science |
Year 9
Year 9
| Cycle | Enquiry Question | Worldviews | Disciplines |
| A | Should happiness be the purpose of life? | Christian, Buddhist and non-religious e.g. Humanist | Philosophy |
| B | Do humans have the right to ‘Play God? | Christian, Muslim, Non-Religious views | Social Science |
| C | Why is there suffering? Are there any good solutions? | Christian, Buddhist and non-religious views | Theology/Philosophy |
| D | Why do some Philosophers doubt the existence of God? | Christian, Buddhist and non-religious views | Philosophy |
Advice For Parents & Carers
Our community school is in the process of connecting with local places of worship which students will be given the opportunity to visit. There are a range of textbooks suitable to our Key Stage 3 curriculum and the department recommends Collins’ World Religions series which gives a good overview of each of the Big Six religions studied in class. The departmental Knowledge Organisers that are published each learning cycle are an invaluable tool in preparing students for their end of cycle assessments. In addition, the following websites are invaluable to students. We encourage you to support your child to use them for independent studies:
