In Year 10, students at New River College work towards the AQA Religious Studies short course GCSE in their Humanities lessons. The GCSE covers a range of religions and philosophical and ethical themes. Students will be challenged with questions about belief, values, meaning, purpose and truth, enabling them to develop their own values and attitudes towards religious issues. Students will also gain an appreciation of how religion, philosophy and ethics form the basis of our culture. They will develop analytical and critical thinking skills, the ability to work with abstract ideas, leadership and research skills. All these will help prepare them for further study.
Students will consider different beliefs and attitudes to both religious and non-religious issues in contemporary British society. We look in-depth at the beliefs and teachings of Christianity and Islam, as well as considering other religious and non-religious beliefs such as atheism and humanism. Completing a short course GCSE in year 10 gives our students the opportunity to practice preparing for and taking real GCSE exams early. This then allows them to put lessons learnt from the experience into practice for their Y11 studies.
Click on the link to view our KS4 Religious Studies curriculum map.
In Year 11, students work towards the Edexcel Citizenship Studies GCSE in their Humanities lessons. Citizenship Studies is about how people take an active part in democratic politics and work together for a better society, locally, nationally and globally.
Students will learn about power, democracy, the operation of government and the legal system, and the role of the UK in the wider world. They will explore and learn about different controversial and topical issues with political, social, ethical, economic and environmental dimensions in local to global contexts. They will experience taking citizenship action and learn from trying to make a difference themselves.
Completing a GCSE in a year allows New River College pupils the opportunity to gain a second GCSE qualification in this curriculum area. A GCSE in Citizenship Studies gives young people a good foundation for further study such as Law, Government and Politics and other Humanities courses. These are useful for progression for a range of related courses at university. From there it is possible to become a lawyer, researcher, journalist, teacher, campaigner, join local or national government, or even start on the path to becoming a future Prime Minister! As Citizenship Studies develops an understanding of the world around us and what we can do to change it for the better, it will help students become more informed and active citizens whatever they choose to do in the future.
Click on the link to view our KS4 Citizenship curriculum map.
In Year 10, students learn about the following areas for their Religious Studies GCSE (short course):
Section A: The study of religions: beliefs and teachings of two religions – Christianity and Buddhism.
Section B: Thematic studies: religious, philosophical and ethical studies; Theme A on Relationships and Families and Theme B on Religion, Peace and Conflict.
In Year 11, students learn about the following areas for their Citizenship Studies GCSE:
Across each year, key concepts are consolidated through regular key terms tests. The key skills for answering different types of exam questions (for example, 12/15 mark essays) are regularly revisited with consistent success criteria that allow students to identify what they need to do to make progress. Supported revision sessions for end-of-unit assessments and mock exam practice help with the ongoing consolidation of course content and exam technique.
Additional support is provided in conversation with Learning Assistants in lessons and after school support/catch-up sessions are offered. Students who join part way through the year are supported to catch up with course content via bespoke lessons and additional independent learning tasks.
Year 10 – Religious Studies GCSE short course
Year 11 – Citizenship Studies GCSE
The Humanities curriculum is enriched by trips to places such as Parliament, the Migration Museum and the London Buddhist Centre. Participation in NRC's Student Council offers students a practical experience of active citizenship. New River College also participates in the local Youth Council elections.
Upon entry: baseline activity.
During term: written and verbal formative feedback from the teacher with opportunities to develop work further. A range of different assessment tasks are used regularly: key terms tests; short answer question practice; essay writing practice.
End of each half term: End-of-unit assessments give the opportunity for mock exam practice. Students are graded according to the 1-9 GCSE grading system.
End of the year: The Religious Studies GCSE short course is assessed in a written exam at the end of Year 10 (1hour 45 minutes). The Citizenship Studies GCSE is assessed in two written exam papers, each 1 hour and 45 minutes long, worth 50% of the final grade. Exams contain a mixture of short answer, source-based and extended response questions.