Religious Studies
At St Hilary’s, Religious Studies plays an integral role in each child’s education. In this multi-cultural age, religion is part of the fabric of our day-to-day lives.
Understanding the basics of the world religions is important in helping children nurture their own moral and spiritual development, whilst broadening their minds with an appreciation and tolerance of how others think, what they believe, and how this affects the way they live their lives.
We aim to provide a stimulating environment for discussion and debate, whilst also allowing pupils to have the space and security to begin to develop their own understanding of the world around them. We encourage our pupils to gain self-understanding, to explore relationships with others and to consider the place of the individual within the local community and the wider world. This is achieved in classroom-based lessons and trips to local places of worship as well as through whole-school activities and assemblies.
Throughout their time at St Hilary’s the pupils study six of the world's major religions - Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism and Hinduism. Teachers encourage pupils to learn through questioning, through listening to each other’s views and through being prepared to be challenged by what each member of the class has to say. An important part of this process is developing the skills needed to empathise with the often diverse views of others. The Religious Studies department has a wide selection of artefact boxes for each religion, providing hands-on material to help the different religions come to life.