Religion and philosophy (RP) at Chiswick School provides an academic approach to the study of religions alongside philosophy.  We strive to ensure that RP is relevant and engaging for every student at Chiswick, irrespective of their particular world view.  To achieve this, our curriculum introduces students to all major world religions as well as non-religious world views such as humanism.  We start by studying world views discreetly and move on to a thematic approach in year 9.  Alongside the study of religion, we introduce students to the fundamentals of philosophical thought, starting with an introduction to Ancient Greek philosophy in year 7.  At GCSE we offer AQA religious studies as an option and the AQA short course in religious studies as part of our core curriculum.  At A Level we offer AQA A Level Philosophy.

We have ensured that RP complements the rest of the curriculum by improving students’ ability to reason, think critically and evaluate. We develop extended writing skills through essay writing and oracy skills through regular discussions using a ‘philosophy for children’ (P4C) format.  We believe that RP has a key role to play in fostering learners who are motivated to succeed and who are equipped with the skills, knowledge and cultural capital to do so.  

In RP students are encouraged to reflect on their own beliefs and values and to discuss issues respectfully with their peers, who may not always share their opinions.  Through the discussion of ideas and without shying away from challenge, we ultimately encourage the celebration of diversity.  We reflect the school’s commitment to the education of the whole person and understand this to be a crucial aspect of what we do in our curriculum area.  As our students navigate their way through life in multicultural London and the wider world, our vision is for them all to have an understanding of the world which gives them confidence to go out and achieve both academically and socially in whichever field they choose.

We regularly invite speakers in to extend our students’ knowledge beyond the curriculum.  Recent speakers have included a Vicar, an Imam and a representative from the British Humanists’ Association as well as philosophers from the University of Surrey who spoke to our A Level students about the moral philosophy of Kant.  We also organise an annual A Level Philosophy revision conference for our sixth form students with external speakers to help them prepare for their exams.

Curriculum Team Leader: Eleonora Marino

Qualifications and Exam Boards

In years 10 and 11 students can opt to take GCSE RS.  We follow the AQA Specification A: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/religious-studies/gcse/religious-studies-a-8062

We offer the study of two religions: Christianity and Islam.  For the Themes paper we study perspectives from Christianity, Islam and Buddhism, giving students an opportunity for a broad study of religions applied to ethical and philosophical questions.  The themes we study on the GCSE are: Religion and Life; The Existence of God and Revelation; Peace and Conflict and Crime and Punishment.

At A Level we offer AQA Philosophy: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/philosophy/as-and-a-level/philosophy-7172

The A Level is made up of four units: Epistemology; Moral Philosophy; Metaphysics of God and Metaphysics of Mind.

Please click on the link below to view the Curriculum Maps for Religion & Philosophy.

Year 7-13 Curriculum Maps

Parents and carers have the right to withdraw their child from all or part of RE.