Welcome to your Pearson Edexcel Religious Studies April 2025 subject update!
Hello colleagues,
I hope that you have a lovely, restful break during the holidays. As exam season approaches, I wanted to remind you of some of the teaching and learning resources we offer, including a new resource for GCSE Religious Studies.
As always, please do get in touch with me if you have any queries or I can help with anything.
Best wishes,
Jenna Wyatt
Religious Studies Subject Advisor
Just in case you missed it in March, we sent out guidance to centres on digital submissions for the Entry Level Certificate in Religious Studies.
To view the update click below:
Submissions for the ELC in Religious Studies are to be submitted digitally using the Learner Work Transfer (LWT). For further information and guidance on digital submission via LWT please read the support document below:
The submission deadline (to submit marks onto Edexcel Online and to upload candidate work to the LWT) is 15 May in the year of certification. This means that all tests that you would like to submit for your students need to be completed by this date.
Date |
Activity |
|---|---|
| 15 May | ELC Submission Deadline |
Chains of reasoning
This is the fifth in a series of resources which will be released in the coming months to support teaching GCSE Religious Studies.
This teaching resource aids GCSE Religious Studies students in developing logical chains of reasoning. By using a flow chart approach, students are guided through various branches, selecting the most suitable method to refine their answers at each stage. This systematic process also promotes their critical thinking at each stage and comprehension of logical progression.
To access the resource, click below:
This document provides key tips and advice, to help students prepare for their GCSE Religious Studies exams.
As we gear up for the A-Level exams this summer, I thought it would be useful to share with you some useful resources available to support you.
Exam question overviews
Available for each paper, collating all past questions
Exemplar answers
A range of exemplar answers across question types, at different levels and marks
AS and A Level RS support videos
This YouTube playlist includes a range of bitesize videos which support exam technique.
Guidance on the requirements across different AO2 questions
This document provides guidance on the requirements across the three different question types, used to assess AO2 skills (12-mark 'Assess' questions, 20-mark 'Analyse' questions and 30-mark 'Evaluate' questions).
Anthology Guidance
Guidance for the use of the Anthology.
As we gear up for the International GCSE exams this summer, I thought it would be useful to share with you some useful resources available to support you.
Available for each paper (and religion option), collating all past questions.
We have exemplar answers both within examiner reports but under teaching and learning materials.
Ofqual have provided information for students about arrangements for regulated qualifications. This explains what your students need to know before, during and after exams and assessments.
The Joint Council for Qualifications has published their key dates document for the June 2025 exam cycle. Two dates have been set aside as contingency in the event of national or significant local disruption to exams in the UK:
11 June – afternoon session
25 June – full day
Download the JCQ Key dates in the examination cycle guide below:
Every month, we release an edition of 'Topic of the Month' with the aim of supporting cultural capital and stimulating discussion within the classroom.
This resource ties a current news event to our qualification content and enables students to see the bigger picture of what they are learning and how it relates to the world around them. Each edition includes a link to an article alongside some key discussion questions to encourage thought around the subject.
This month’s topic relates to an article, written by Anna Levy for ABC News* and is entitled “The holy month of Ramadan has begun. Here's how to support your Muslim friends and colleagues“.
Every year, NATRE run a 'Spirited Arts' competition. The competition runs from the beginning of the school year to 31 July 2025. These can be in any art form and respond to one of the following 6 themes:
1. Living in a diverse world
Strong communities cope well with diversity. RE can make a good contribution to communities by teaching pupils about the wisdom of religious and non-religious worldviews on human equality and by challenging negative attitudes. We are all different, and all religions are different – but are we all the same too? What holds our communities together? Is it faith? Hope? Love? Music? Sport? What threatens to tear us apart – racism, hatred, bigotry? How can we conquer the forces of division? Teachers and pupils might focus on their local community, look at a national perspective or even consider a global community.
2. Stories that change lives
The power of religion is often shared in stories: Think of stories of the Buddha, Krishna or Gandhi, Jesus’ parables, stories of Jacob or Moses, Guru Nanak or the Prophets of Islam (don’t picture them!). This theme asks you to choose one story from religion – ancient or modern – and show in your artwork how it can make a difference to a person’s life today. Here are some examples: the story of poor suffering Job, or of the Four Sights of Siddhartha in Buddhism, and think deeply to create a brilliant image of the story and its power. Can you use a non-religious story? Yes - if it has power to change lives! Good entries may link ancient and modern, or perhaps draw upon more recent stories for inspiration. Younger pupils may love this theme. It could be a chance to do class project work, grand scale group entries, based on a shared story. Senior students may tackle a less well-known example, bringing out true meanings in the art.
3. Thinking about God?
How do people envisage God? Why do visions of God differ around the world? Atheist, agnostics and theistic pupils can all respond to this theme. Express your ideas about God with some original creativity. Where is God? Who is God? The great creator? Prayer answerer? He or she? Above us all or in every human heart? Or is she hiding? Is he not there at all? Unreal? Imaginary? If you wanted to find out who God is where would you search? Google or a ‘god-detector’? Is God on Instagram, TikTok or WhatsApp? Can we know God by praying and worshipping, or serving people in need? What do you think about when you think of the word ‘God’?
Note: The ‘where is God?’ theme from previous years fits well here.
4. Sacred Places
Mosque and Mandir, Church and Chapel, Gurdwara and Synagogue, a special place at home or outside in nature: spaces for wonder and awe, for ritual and symbol, for believers and visitors. This theme could be a space for photography, collage, group work or reflections on class trips to places of worship. But then some people’s sacred space is on the beach, in the mountains, by the riverside. And for others, it is in the city, among the people who carry heavy loads, even in war-torn space – can God be found there? This theme will be popular with primary class groups who have been on a trip, but 14-19s with a sacred space of their own can win too.
5. All God's Creatures?
Do animals belong to God? Are they part of a divine plan? Do animals have souls? The beauty and sheer awesomeness of non-human animals with whom we share planet Earth is celebrated in many of the world’s religions. Respect for the worth of all animals is at the hearts of some non-religious worldviews too, like Ethical Veganism. Some worldviews see all living beings as interconnected, yet others emphasise the separateness and superiority of humans over other animals. Animals play a huge part in all our lives, whether we realise or not. How humans interact with other animals and the natural world impacts on all living beings and the planet. This theme invites exploration of ideas and beliefs about non-human animals. Challenge learners to engage thoughtfully with scripture, philosophy, and scientific enquiry to write an inspiring passage to accompany stunning images.
Note: The ‘Why do animals matter?’ theme from last year fits well here.
6. Making sense of life
Religious and non-religious worldviews offer answers to fundamental questions raised by human experience. What is the nature of ultimate reality? What is truly real – material stuff, love, spiritual forces, the divine? Can we know anything at all? What is the purpose of living – pleasure, service, procreation, growth, creativity, submission to God? What is our destiny? How do we decide how to live? Create a piece that reflects some of the big questions raised by being human, and the answers your worldview offers – or a selection of worldview responses to compare. The best work will balance theological and philosophical thinking with creative expression.
All themes are suited to both primary and secondary pupils, teachers are advised to share them with RE classes in age-appropriate ways and ensure pupils can respond at their own level, whether they are 4 or 14, 8 or 18.
Enter Spirited Arts | NATRE Competition
Find out more information from the NATRE website.
Massolit have produced video lectures with different university academics that cover content from Philosophy of Religion, Religion and Ethics and Developments in Christian Thought which are really interesting and include some useful content for parts of our Religious Studies A-Level.
The Philosophy, Ethics, and Religion department at Bangor University are hosting a series of complimentary online revision lectures this month. These sessions are tailored for A-Level students preparing for their exams and will cover various themes in Philosophy of Religion, Ethics, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
Participants can join live English-medium lectures on Teams and have the opportunity to engage in debates and discussions.
Sign up to attend sessions from April 14th to April 25th below:
