One of the highlights of this term in RE has been getting to know the Year 7s better through the ‘show & tell’ of their sacred objects. Every student had to bring in an object and spend 30 seconds explaining why this was special to them. It was great to learn all about their hobbies, religions, cultures, families and memories.

Students could connect their personal experiences to relate to the sacred artefacts belonging to traditional religions. They enjoyed handling a real life kirpan and understood why a Sikh would feel lost without it. A speaker from ‘Good News Bible’ then delivered a presentation on the Bible – a sacred item to many Christians. All students were given the opportunity to take away their very own little red Bible.

Sophie W: My item is a sparkly baby grow on a stick. This was put in my food by my dad step mum to tell me that I have a baby brother. If I lost this, it would make me feel really sad because this is what I have to remember that special day.

Ayesha S: This book is very dear to me for many reasons. The book has stories about how the holy prophets struggled and triumphed in spreading the truth of Islam. It also helps me live my life as a good Muslim.

Lilah C: My sacred item was my christening bracelet. It is sterling silver and has little intricate flowers and my name engraved. It is sadly too small for me now, but it makes it more magical as I can see how I’ve grown since being a tiny baby as I was baptised when I was 3 months old. I will cherish this forever because it’s a special event in my life. The bracelet is a remembrance of when I was welcomed into God’s family and became a Catholic. In my faith, baptism is the first sacrament and one of the ways that we strengthen our relationship with God.

This then connected the first unit of ‘What Does it mean to Belong to a Religion?’ to the second unit ‘Do we belong to God?’  Both of these units make up part of our year 7 enquiry into ‘Where do we Belong?’

To engage their Biblical studies of this unit, students enjoyed viewing different types of Bibles to those they had been previously been exposed to. Students are excited to continue their Biblical studies after Christmas with a new-found interest and respect for the Bible as a sacred object and as a guide to understanding God.

Miss Brooks

RE Department

The year 8s have just finished studying the unit ‘How do we answer questions with no definitive answer?’ as part of our year 8 enquiry into ‘Where do we find guidance?’ Students studied a series of ultimate questions and used philosophical tools such as case studies, religious pieces of scripture, analogies and statistics to explain different viewpoints. 

One of the questions was ‘Does God Exist?’ and students were given the challenge of creating a piece of art work or poem which demonstrates why they believe whether God does or does not exist.  The RE department were blown away by the entries. Here is a small sample:

1^st: Unaysah P
The image you created powerfully showed your response to the ultimate question. We could clearly see what your image was representing. Your image was very unique and full of vibrant colours. The quote helps connect your ideas and shows extra dedicated research.

2^nd: Vritika S

The poem you have created is detailed and we can clearly see your views on whether you believe that God exists or not. The pictures behind, work in harmony with the meaning of your poem. It adds the extra wow factor to your poem.

3^rd: Lily S
The poem that you created was extremely unique and well thought out.  It showed deep thought and conveys a powerful message.

Miss Brooks

RE Department