Am I correct that RE is compulsory to age 16?

[roisin]

Can anyone find me a link that 'proves' this? I've been searching unsuccessfully.

Ta
Rx

Where are you Roisin? I can only tell you about Scotland. If you are elsewhere in the UK then I'm afraid I do not know the answer to your question.

Yes it is! But DD's school did "Philosophy & Ethics" which was a good alternative.

hmmm think dd gave this up after yr 9

Sorry - no proof, but DD & friends at other schools had NO option to drop it at GCSE.

so did dd1

That was agreeing with ggirl

yes,dd did drop it after yr 9

will this do?

I find it quite distressing that something that is arguably equivelent to believing in the healing power of crystals is compulsory teaching in state education.

We are in England, not Scotland.

it is at our school - can't think of anywhere you could Google tho

from iota's link

The council, representing the interests of faith communities and professional associations, recently reported that about a third of secondaries did not teach the subject to all pupils after the age of 14 and only one in five taught all sixth formers the subject.

I was the first year at my school that were not given the chance to drop it. We were told it was compulsory but it was only a half GCSE not got a clue why only a half but we only did one lesson a week.

Could do with something stronger than that Iota - I need proof to satisfy teenagers

Colditz - many RE teachers do not hold religious beliefs themselves. and the RE syllabus is very much about mutual understanding and tolerance. Our students study Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam; but also topics such as "life and death - including abortion, euthanasia, etc."

Taken from the Nat. Cirriculum website:
The national curriculum applies to pupils of compulsory school age in community and foundation schools, including community special schools and foundation special schools, and voluntary controlled schools.

The statutory subjects that all pupils must study are citizenship, English, information and communication technology, mathematics, physical education and science. The teaching of careers education, sex education, work-related learning and religious education is also statutory.

I think a more appropriate title for the subject would be "Spirituality and Ethics" - FWIW I dropped it at 14 - but that was in 1994.

here

Thank you Milliways - that's just what I need

well dd must be going against the National Curriculum as she has dropped it .

I think it's like ICT. Doesn't have to be a GCSE but has to be covered in some lessons, so most schools make you sit the exam as they have to timetable it.

AS I understood it when I was teaching in England, although RE is a statutory subject, parents have the right to withdraw their child from these lessons is they so wish, and some do exercise this right (eg, Jehovah's Witnesses often do).

The 1998 Education Act included RE as a compulsory subject. IIRC the Butler Act in 1944 made RE compulsory, indeed the only part of the curriculum which was compulsory, but from which parents had the right to withdraw their children
try this link

It is the law and in the way that Donk says, I know this because I teach it. FWIW I don;t think it should be comulsory at Key Stage 4.

You can withdraw, although at our school we have some JW and they remain in lessons.

It need not be an exam subject although I think it is a bit out of order to expect all kids to take it and then not let them get a qualification for it.

Sometimes people think they have dropped it but it is taken as a discrete subjectm hidden away in PSHE.

I don't quite get it.

So if your dc has no intention of taking a GCSE in RE, he still has to waste hours every week in years 10 and 11 learning it?

That doesn't seem quite right.....

Head of RE at my sons' school is an atheist. Who else could teach the subject objectively?