Philosophy and Ethics
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Welcome to the Philosophy and Ethics Department
Philosophy and Ethics at Cromwell is provided for all students from Year 7 through to Year 13. The
subject aims to provide a critical understanding of the role religion plays in the world. Whilst there
is a focus on Christianity, students will consider all the world's major religions and also consider
the increasing role atheism and humanism play in our society. We seek to encourage the students'
understanding of the religions they study, along with providing students with a comfortable environment
in which to discuss their ideas. The department incorporates Philosophy teaching into the RE syllabus,
encouraging students to develop their analytical and critical thinking skills.
The Philosophy and Ethics team comprises of Mr Adigun-Harris (Head of Department), Mrs F Baxter
(Advanced Skills Teacher), and Mrs S Salisbury (Specialist Teaching Assistant) along with the invaluable
input provided by a range of Humanities staff. Each Key Stage provides a solid grounding in terms of
knowledge and understanding which then naturally leads to and serves as a platform to the next level of
understanding and Key Stage.
At Key Stage 3 students are taught to consider a variety of religious ideas including spirituality and
the existence of God, while covering aspects of all six world religions.
Key Stage 4 intends to build upon this understanding and encourage pupils to justify their own opinion
whilst considering a number of opposing opinions in relation to issues such as matters of life, crime and
punishment, immortality and miracles.
All students will sit either a short or full course GCSE, (Religious Studies B) provided by the AQA
examination board, details of which can be found on www.aqa.org.uk.
In Key Stage 5 students are encouraged to adopt an enquiring critical and reflective approach to the study of the Philosophy of Religion and Hinduism. This is a very intensive course which provides pupils who wish to attend university with the necessary grounding and skills to work independently and to form and consider a variety of opinions and challenges in any given topic.