Is RE compulsory at gcse level?

[fairyfuckwings]

The reason I ask is that my twins are just choosing their options for gsce now and I find it a bit disappointing really that they've had to drop subjects they love as they only have limited choices. At their school RE is compulsory. Every parent I've spoken to has felt that RE is a bit of a waste of of lesson. The choices my kids got were 2 of the following: art, geography, history, extra ict, drama, science (to make it triple) and business studies.

As an atheist I feel that the last 10 years the children have spent learning about the various fantasies people choose to participate in is enough. Personally, I think history is a far more relevant subject. Well anything other than Re really. My kids have no interest in this subject. I have no interest in it. And judging the lack of interest in the Re desk at the recent parents evening it would seem that none of the other parents give a toss either.

Is this a national thing? Or is it just my children's school?

no one chooses their subject? Why are they not choosing it, if the teaching is so good?

As previous posters have said this is a subject that comes around every year.

And whilst I have no information whether this applies to you OP, quite often the it's the same people moaning about their DC having to take RE who were previously keen fans of the "on your knees to save the fees" attitude: i.e. ensuring they meet the church attendance criteria to get into the high performing state-school which is run on a christian ethos, without particularly actually considering themselves at all religious. Whether or not this was true for you, I bet the GCSE policy was in place 5 or 6 years ago when you were considering schools and if you didn't want your child to go somewhere that places a high value on RE and makes it a required subject at GCSE, there was probably another secondary school run on completely secular lines that you could have chosen.

I think you have to either suck it up, or move your child to a different school if it really matters that much.

I'm surprised OP's kids' school doesn't make them pick either history or geography tbh - most schools want their kids to do EBacc (even though it doesn't really exist), so I don't think humanities teachers have much to worry about! Do check ICT though - the ICT my dd is doing (under protest) is nothing more than how to use excel....

if you didn't want your child to go somewhere that places a high value on RE and makes it a required subject at GCSE, there was probably another secondary school run on completely secular lines that you could have chosen

My DC's school is:

a) not a religious school
b) my catchment (I did not move, and no viable alternatives)
c) has compulsory RE at GCSE

So I uphold my right to object.

creamteas- I agree.

Even non-denominational schools have a legal obligation to lead active worship which gets my goat. I have already decided to send them to a non religious school so why should I have to withdraw them further from religious assemblies etc.

you rarely see a religious assembly in most schools
Or even a daily assembly

Depends on the school lordpalmerston. Our primary (non- denominational) had two religious assemblies a week and would often bring in the local church minister to give a service and lead prayers. Disgusting.

oh yes disgusting

I don't want my children indoctrinated thanks very much. I have already chosen a non religious school to send them to to keep away from religion. Unfortunately it seems there is no escape.

Indoctrinating children is disgusting.

Unless its changed this year, I didn't think it was compulsory for GCSE, just a few lessons in KS4. At DD1s GCSE school oast year, they just covered it in some of their PSHE lessons. Im sure it wasnt continuous either, just a total of about 12 lessons. No exam.
Personally, would have rather seen a forced GCSE in RE instead of the ICT supposedly GCSE equivalent, which was a complete waste of time.

why dont you regard it as learning about other people's beliefs

he might not want to go to France when he is older but at least he can appreciate its a different language

It's not though, it's leading active worship. including prayer. My DD was taught the story of Noah's ark and thought it was a history lesson. I don't send my children to school to be taught misinformation.

I am all for learning about people's beliefs in an objective manner, but I don't want my children to receive religious indoctrination.

I think people may be getting co fused between RE GCSE (which is very ethics and debate based - dd does essays on the morals around euthanasia for example) and the legal requirement for schools to hold a daily act of worship, and to do some sort of RE (the latter if which is just raising an awareness of issues). At secondary I doubt many do a daily act of broadly Christian worship! Even my dcs Cof E school doesn't do that! If your school actively presents the Bible as the truth and attempts indoctrination complain loud and hard.

At secondary school, learning that X believes this, Y believes that, Z believes this, X has this ritual, Y has that ritual, Z has this ritual etc, in my mind makes the whole religious thing seem incredulous and presposterous and is highly likely to produce free thinking agnostics.

Far less happy with what goes on at Junior School with prayers and stuff like that.

I had this discussion with my son. He told me everybody has to do GCSE RE because people get high results in it so it boosts the schools pass rates

If it really is to boost pass rate figures then DS school are being idiots; DS is quite turned off of religion & has already said he'll put minimal effort in, I am not sure he'll even pass.

That said, my impression of the RE syllabus is that it is mostly not religion.
It's part of pSHE & DS had to put condoms on a model willy the other week.

When my daughter was at school I certainly had the impression that the reason the entire year group was put in for short course RE GCSE was because the school had to timetable RE so thought they should get the credit in the league tables - the senior staff seemed to think virtually all of them would pass with C or above so it was an easy win.

RE isn't just about the major religions these days. They debate issues, ethics, moral choices, philosophy. Hopefully, they learn to think. (Too much Christianity imo, but it is the official religion of this country so it's fair enough really.)

It's def not to boost pass rates, a Short course gcse wouldn't contribute to the pass rate -only a full course. Schools would only enter students for the full course if students had the full time to do it. Generally, unless students have picked the full course as one of their options then they will only have 1 lesson a week. An option subject is usually 3 per week. Also -most schools must follow a gcse course in RE at ks4 -the courses have varying names such as religion & society etc but obv the whole title wouldn't be included on the timetable. Schools may wish to enter the full cohort of students for a short course as if they must study it at ks4 they may as well get a qualification at the end of it.

Basically it's a mess.
DDs school have had -
A)Legal min, no exam-DCs messed about
B)Short course, for everyone who didn't take RE as an option.
This is what DD1 started, but the short corse has been pulled, so now everyone has to do full GCSE in a tight slot.

I believe next I believe we are back to A) no exam or full option.

What DD2 will get offered I don't know (I fear if there is still no worthwhile short course her cohort will be in detention a lot)

short course wont count in the new school measuring tables i think

Short course def doesn't count towards measuring tables -it is def still available though, if you are concerned that your child won't be ready/ prepared to sit the full course exam then contact the head of department and request that they are entered for the short course.

Most likely the head of department hasn't made the choice to enter them for the full course on 1 lesson a week -this would have been made by slt. -although presumably the a-c predictions make it look feasible?

Not compulsory in my children's school

Our secondary (non-religious) has made RE GCSE compulsory this year, on the basis that this was more worthwhile than the short course not leading to a GCSE.

We're card-carrying Dawkins-style atheists and I'm not wild about my dc undergoing too much religious instruction, but:

a) as others have said, the curriculum is more about ethics and critical thinking than about religion - they study things like abortion, animal rights, the ethics of war. As a philosophy graduate I can see that it's as close to a philosophy or ethics course as it is to old-style RE.

b) my dc love it and are good at it. we all like a bit of critical argument in this household. You can dislike religion and enjoy this course, it seems.

c) if they aren't enjoying it, I will just opt them out, you can opt out of your children studying RE at any stage of school. So there's no need to feel they're stuck doing it, it IS optional. By parental choice.

RE IS NOT COMPULSORY
You have the right to withdraw your child from RE lessons at any time

DCs school actively encourages all of those who do not WANT to take RE GCSE to withdraw from it - so that the lessons are full of those who want to be there

As an atheist I totally support compulsory RE in primary and up to about year 8
in years 10 and 11 its an anachronism and I'm happy with the was its handled at our school.