The Department of Religious Studies

Theacademic year 2012-2013 was one of substantial change in the Religious Studies department, much of which would have been unnoticeable to those outside it.

As in previous years, Year 7 and 8 were ably taught by staff from other subject areas. Rochelle Maxwell and Tom Conway began the year, and Les Padfield covered for Tom during his illness, from which we wish him a speedy recovery. The curriculum, however, was almost entirely revamped for 2012 to give a greater emphasis on creativity and thinking skills. Year 7 formed travel agencies and pitched their personalised Hajj pilgrimages, while Year 8 formed detective agencies and investigated the death of Jesus.

The weather smiled on the Year 7 combined RS and Geography field trip to Farningham and Eynsford, which involved an enjoyable and interesting investigation into historic church buildings. Many thanks go to the chaplain for his turn as a tour guide.

Year 9 brought inquisitiveness and a flair for debate to their GCSE course. Creationism, the relationship between Church and State, the rights and wrongs of church schools, and the balancing of rights in a multicultural society were just some of the topics that sparked fiercely-contested discussion.

In Activities Week 1, Year 9 filled a train for the combined RS and Classics trip to St Paul’s Cathedral and the Museum of London. The trip fell right in the middle of our class discussions on the relationship between Church and State, and with the sheer mass of national history entombed or enshrined in this magnificent building no student can fail to have noticed the role of St Paul’s as a physical embodiment of this relationship.

For the first time in recent memory at St Olave’s, the Short Course Religious Studies GCSE was the only qualification entirely completed in the summer of Year 10. The year group were naturally nervous about their first ‘real’ exam, but returned a very pleasing set of results and students have now gone into Year 11 with their confidence buoyed for the rest of their subjects. A special mention is owed to 10J, who managed a perfect 100% A / A*.

Years 13 were the first year group to complete the new-to-St Olave’s OCR A Level syllabus. A heady mix of Philosophy and Ethics, the course evaluates big ideas from Aristotle and Aquinas to Wittgenstein and Wiles.

Very few philosophers have names beginning with ‘Z’. The small but very likeable class of 3 students, Anna Chadwick, Lucy Clarke and Bea Shepherd, worked extremely hard all year and were justly rewarded with some excellent results. Congratulations in particular to Bea Shepherd, who achieved an A* and has gone on to read Philosophy at Cambridge.

2012-2013 was a busy year for the department (alsomentions include a visit to A Level students by Bishop Lindsay Urwin and a philosophy conference at Newstead Wood attended by a select cohort of Year 10 students), but it was not hectic all the time. Also new on the syllabus, under Year 8 Buddhism, is a tonic for the overactive student that I am sorely tempted to introduce from time to time in other year groups: silent meditation!

Year 9 trip to St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Museum of London

On Monday 20th May Year 9 visited St Paul’s Cathedral and the Museum of London as part of a combined Religious Studies and Classics Departments Study Day. Students had the opportunity to consider the role of the cathedral and the life stories of some of those buried there. At the London Museum they were given the opportunity to examine artefacts on foreign deities introduced into the Roman province of Britannia by the resident army and explore the Roman army through the grave monuments and statues of several soldiers.

Year 10 Philosophy and Ethics Conference

On Friday 8th January, 15 Year 10 students attended a Religious Studies conference at Newstead Wood School. There they took part in a carousel of 4 sessions on a range of philosophical and ethical issues, facilitated by 6th form students from Newstead Wood.

After some initial shyness at being quite considerably outnumbered, the Olavians quickly showed themselves to be every bit as articulate and perceptive as their female counterparts. On topics as diverse as the merits of Utilitarianism and evidence for/against the afterlife they demonstrated an impressive ability to deconstruct and assess an argument, with David Van Egghen and Thomas Miller in particular more than holding their own in debating the issues. Following the success of this year’s conference, plans are already afoot for next year.