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Church says 7.5 per cent rise in GCSE Religious Education students helps understanding in today's society

24 August 2006

 

“More than 430,000 GCSE students are opening envelopes to reveal their grades in Religious Education today, following months of studying a subject that will broaden their horizons and help them to understand the society we live in today,” says Canon John Hall, the Church of England’s Chief Education Officer.

The results, issued today, show a 7.5 per cent increase in the total number studying Religious Education; 7 per cent more students took the GCSE short course in Religious Education this year than last, representing an extra 20,000 students and taking the total to 271,251. There was a small rise in the number achieving A*-C grades in the course.

The full course, usually studied over two years, was taken by an extra 12,000 students - an 8.2 per cent rise to almost 160,000 students - with a 2 per cent rise in the number achieving A*-C.

Canon John Hall, Chief Education Officer for the Church of England, comments: “Today’s figures are a testament to the hard work of students and their teachers across the country. It is no mean feat to increase the number of students taking a course by these sort of numbers, which are concrete evidence that young people are stimulated by the subject and fascinated by discovering more about what they and others believe and how that affects their day-to-day lives.”

“The false image of Religious Education as an easy option has been shattered by high quality teaching that allows students to explore a range of religious traditions and themes that in turn help them grasp the complexities of living in a multi-cultural world,” Canon Hall continues.

He adds that the statistics give weight to calls to ensure the inclusion of Religious Education in the Government’s proposed 14-19 framework: “Implementation of the proposed flexible framework for study after the age of 14, aimed at boosting vocational study in the workplace, should reflect the fact that such a large number of students actively choose to take Religious Education as a qualification. We must not allow the subject to be sidelined or ignored altogether by those setting the curriculum for 14-19 year olds who take advantage of the new vocational study opportunities. Religious Education must be given due prominence in the compulsory elements of these students’ time in school, as the Government has recognised.”