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Religious Education

Our Religious Education curriculum at Burnley High School reflects that of the Lancashire Agreed Syllabus which is ‘to support pupils’ personal search for meaning by engaging enquiry into the question ‘what does it mean to be human?’ through exploring answers offered by religion and belief.

Through relevant and engaging subject content, pupils learn about and from religion to understand the complexities of faith and draw from it their own conclusions about belief and what it means to them. Staffed by vibrant and dedicated staff, the department’s main aim is to engage pupils in understanding religious and ethical issues and to encourage them to make informed decisions about the beliefs and values they hold. Our overarching aim is to encourage pupils to think for themselves, guided by beliefs common to those of all faiths and none.

We passionately believe that pupils should be knowledgeable enough to make informed decisions about their own beliefs, values and ideals. We encourage pupils to make their own informed choices in every lesson. We encourage independent thinking through a series of ethics-based units of learning, including myth busting about terrorism, Human Rights and their violations and a study of the Holocaust through the story of Anne Frank.

The end goal is that pupils have a broad understanding of the Big Six world religions and non-religious views on morals and values. The purpose of our curriculum is that time is given for pupils to reflect, assess on religious values and their own values.   The study of religious and non-religious worldviews is a core component of a well-rounded academic education. This has long been recognised as essential in Britain. Indeed, one could argue that it is more important now than ever. Young people today are growing up in a world where there is increasing awareness of the diversity of religious and non-religious worldviews, and they will need to live and work well with people with very different worldviews from themselves. One need only glance at a newspaper to know that it is impossible to fully understand the world without understanding worldviews.”

(Religion and Worldviews: A national plan for RE 2018)

Curriculum Roadmaps

Please note,  every subject exercise book your child has contains a subject ‘Burnley High Road Map’ that outlines the content covered, timelines and assessment points for the current year.

I love BHS because it really does feel like a family. All staff and students know each other, are extremely supportive of one another and show amazing levels of respect throughout the school. There really isn’t another school like it!”

Miss Yates