Our approach
Subject Leader
Curriculum Overview
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
Year 12
Year 13

Our approach

At Ark St Albans Academy, our vision is that every pupil who journeys through our Religious Education curriculum emerges ready to thrive in a modern UK society—one that celebrates pluralism, equality, and diversity. We aim to nurture individuals who not only integrate harmoniously into this society but also contribute meaningfully to its ongoing growth and cohesion. 

 

Inspired by the wisdom of Socrates— “The unexamined life is not worth living”—we aspire for our pupils to become lifelong thinkers. As scholars of Religious Education, they will be equipped to reflect deeply on their own beliefs, understand the worldviews of others, and engage thoughtfully with the complexities of human existence. 

 

To us, this is what it means to flourish: to live a life enriched by contemplation, empathy, and a profound appreciation of the human experience. 

 

GCSE Exam Board – Edexcel 

A Level Exam Board – Eduqas 

Subject Leader

Ms Harriet Mawdsley

harriet.mawdsley@arkstalbans.org

Curriculum Overview

Year 7

Autumn 1 Autumn 2
What are the key features of religion and why are they important to religious believers? What does it mean to have a non-religious worldview?
Spring 1 Spring 2
What does the Hebrew Bible teach about covenant, sin, and redemption? What does the Hebrew Bible teach about covenant, sin, and redemption?
Summer 1 Summer 2
How do Jewish beliefs influence Jewish practices? How do Jewish beliefs influence Jewish practices?

All Year 7 subjects Next Year 7 Subject - Art

 

Year 8

Autumn 1 Autumn 2
How do Christian beliefs influence Christian practices?
Spring 1 Spring 2
How do religions start, spread, and split? With reference to Christianity. How do religions start, spread, and split? With reference to Islam.
Summer 1 Summer 2
How do Hindu beliefs influence Hindu practices?

All Year 8 subjects Next Year 8 Subject - Art

Year 9

Autumn 1 Autumn 2
How do Buddhist beliefs influence Buddhist practices? How do religions start and develop over time? With reference to Sikhism.
Spring 1 Spring 2
How do religions start and develop over time? With reference to Sikhism. Does God exist?
Summer 1 Summer 2
How do I know what is right and wrong? What are the similarities and differences between the foundational beliefs and practices of Christianity and Islam?

All Year 9 subjects Next Year 9 Subject - Art

 

Year 10

Autumn 1 Autumn 2
How do Muslims live an Islamic life?   What do Muslims believe?
Spring 1 Spring 2
What do Christians believe? What do Christians believe?
Summer 1 Summer 2
How do Christians live a Christian life? What do Christians believe about Marriage and the Family?

All Year 10 subjects Next Year 10 Subject - Art

Year 11

Autumn 1 Autumn 2
What do Christians believe about Life and Death? What are the main philosophical ideas evidenced in the Qur'an?
Spring 1 Spring 2
What do Muslims believe about equality? Revision
Summer 1 Summer 2
   

All Year 11 subjects Next Year 11 Subject - Art

Year 12

Autumn 1 Autumn 2

Islam 
How did Islam start and spread? 

What is the nature, purpose, use and treatment of the Quran? 

What are the key religious beliefs of Islam? 

Ethics 
Which Christian based theories inform ethical decision making?

Islam 
What are the key religious practices of Islam?

How do the masjid, Ashura, Ramadan and Eid shape the religious identity of Muslims? 

Ethics 
What do Christians believe about the purpose and reason for the existence of evil?
Spring 1 Spring 2

Islam 
What are the beliefs and practices distinctive of Shi’a and Sufi Islam? 

What do Muslims believe about crime and punishment? 

Ethics
How does Situation Ethics inform Christian morality?

Philosophy
What do Christians believe about the cause of the universe? 

Ethics
How does Utilitarianism inform Christian morality? 
Summer 1 Summer 2

Philosophy
What do Christians believe about the purpose of and reason for the existence of evil?

Ethics
To what extent is morality a part of human nature?

Philosophy 
What is religious language? Does religious language have meaning? 
   

All Year 12 subjects Next Year 12 Subject - Art

Year 13

Autumn 1 Autumn 2

Islam
What are the sources of Shariah and how is it used by Muslims? 

What is jihad and how is it used by Muslims? 

How was Medina the first Islamic state and how does this influence the governance of Muslim countries today? 

Ethics
How do developments of Natural Law shape our understanding of morality? 

Islam 
What issues arise when Islam interacts with the modern world? With reference to Scientific views about the origins of the Universe, Pluralism, Family and Migration. 

What are Western perceptions of Islam? 

Ethics
Ethics Theme 4
Spring 1 Spring 2

Philosophy 
How does Freud argue religion is a product of the human mind? 

  
Summer 1 Summer 2
   

All Year 13 subjects Next Year 13 Subject - Art