Head of Department: Mrs Kelly Beasant
Exam board: OCR
In the PRE A Level course, there are opportunities for students to attend conferences, independent learning and peer teaching sessions, and revision days where department members share their experience of external examination marking. This guarantees an A-level course that is fascinating for students interested in philosophical and theological questions of meaning, purpose and truth.
The challenging academic content of the course encourages students to think critically, develop logical reasoning, debate carefully, justify opinions, empathise with others, enquire, research and write compelling essays
Throughout the course arguments for the existence of God and challenges to these arguments are analysed and evaluated. Ethical theories, developed by great philosophers to answer Socrates’ question: ‘How should one live?” are studied and applied to contemporary moral issues, for example environmental, medical, sexual and business ethics. Developments in Christian theology over 2,000 years are examined, exploring how the Church has responded to challenges such as the rise of feminism and pluralism in the modern world.
Ultimately, students sit three written exams based on philosophy of religion, religious ethics and developments in Christian thought.
Exam Results
The average of the A Level results in PRE over the most recent three year period (2023, 2022, 2021) is:
| A* | 34% |
| A* – A | 75% |
| A* – B | 100% |
