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Staff

• Ms L. Northcott

Aims

The intention of Religious and Moral Education is not to commend a particular religious or moral view, but rather to encourage pupils to think about such questions as:

• What is religion?
• How do the major religions answer moral questions?
• What things do they (the pupils) do that are similar to religious activities?
• How do they decide what is the right thing to do?What other approaches, besides religious ones, are there to moral questions?

The Religious and Moral Education Department aims:

1. to promote an enquiring , critical and sympathetic approach to the study of religion;
2. to encourage pupils to reflect on their own experience of life to date;
3. to develop pupils` insights into situations which pose moral and social questions and to develop their capacity to respond to these situations in a balanced and understanding way;
4. to explore the contribution of religion to human identity and fulfillment, both as individuals and as groups;
5. to contribute to understanding the multicultural dimension of the society in which pupils live;
6. to encourage pupils to express their views in a manner that facilitates the discussion of the issue being examined.

Core RME Courses: S1 – S4

S1: Pupils in this year group follow the 5-14 National Guidelines looking at such questions as ‘What is a Human Being?’ and investigating the nature and role of communities including various religious communities.

S2: Pupils in this year group follow the 5-14 National Guidelines looking at such issues as the nature of belief and how beliefs affect people’s actions as well as being given an introduction to moral thinking.

S3: Pupils in this year group undertake the Intermediate I course ‘Moral Issues in Technology’. This unit is designed to introduce pupils to the extent of change that new technologies have brought about in the 20th and 21st centuries in the areas of work and leisure, the environment and medicine. The course requires pupils to look at the religious and moral issues that surround the use of new technologies and to develop and express their own viewpoints about them.

S4: Pupils in this year group undertake the Intermediate I unit ‘Morality in the Modern World’. The unit is designed to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to understand contemporary moral issues and some of the reasons for differences of opinion in relation to these issues. Two specific moral issues are investigated to aid the development of pupils’ skills and knowledge. We look at the area of Medical Ethics and the moral difficulties surrounding two out of the following three issues: genetic engineering, euthanasia and organ transplants.

Higher Still Philosophy

S5/ S6 Pupils have the option of studying Higher Still Philosophy at either Higher or Intermediate Two level. This is an introductory course which prepares pupils to undertake further study of Philosophy at University or to undertake other courses which demand a high level of critical thinking. The course is divided into four separate units, as follows:

• Critical Thinking in Philosophy
• Metaphysics
• Epistemology – the study of knowledge
• Moral Philosophy

The course is assessed nationally by a final examination.