November 2023 Religious Studies subject update

The 2024 Pearson National Teaching Awards are now open for entry!

The Pearson National Teaching Awards aim to raise the profile of the teaching profession, highlight the positive impact teachers and school leaders have in our society – with pupils, parents and the wider community, and show teachers how much they are valued.

Entry is free, and the awards are open to all state and independent schools and FE colleges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

2024 entries are now open, and we want to get as many early entries in as possible. Deadline for applications is 1st March.

A nomination can have a huge impact, not just on those entered, but on the whole community. Become part of the 25 year legacy and enter today at www.teachingawards.com

A 2023 Silver Winner said: “The profession needs to be shouted from the rooftops. They work incredibly hard & dedicate their lives to young people - it’s vital they get the recognition they deserve.”

• www.teachingawards.com

If you enter before 22 December you will be eligible for early bird feedback on your entry, along with the chance to win 2 x free tickets to one of the prestigious 2024 celebratory events to meet and network with fellow educators.

2024 Categories

• Outstanding New Teacher of the Year, supported by the Department for Education  
• Lifetime Achievement, supported by the Department for Education·      
• FE Lecturer, supported by the Department for Education·      
• FE Team of the Year, supported by the Department for Education      
• Headteacher of the Year in a Primary School, supported by Hays Education     
• Headteacher of the Year in a Secondary School, supported by Hays Education·      
• Teacher of the Year in a Primary School·      
• Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School, supported by Nord Anglia Education      
• Digital Innovator of the Year, supported by Nord Anglia Education      
• Primary School of the Year – Making a Difference      
• Secondary School of the Year – Making a Difference      
• Excellence in Special Needs Education      
• Early Years Team of the Year      
• Teaching Assistant of the Year·      
• Impact through Partnership     
• Unsung Hero

Don’t forget to watch this year’s awards live on BBC The One Show from 20th-24th Nov.

Earlier this month, we released further information about our finalised amends to our GCSE mark scheme level descriptors for (d) evaluation questions, for Specification A and Specification B.  

Following my recent update about GCSE Religious Studies level descriptor amends in (d) evaluation questions, we wanted to follow up and share some information about grade boundaries to help guide and reassure centres. The level descriptors have been adapted to ensure the best student exam experience, but our assessment processes will ensure that all students get the GCSE grades that they deserve.

You can read more about this at the following link:

• Changes to GCSE Religious Studies (d) level descriptors: How will this affect grade boundaries in summer 2024?

In order to support centres to understand the changes that have been made to our level descriptors, we will be providing a range of support:

Event 1 is now available:

This on-demand training session features our Chair of Examiners Dr James Holt explaining the changes to our level descriptors and what this means for teachers and students.  

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Further support will include:

Support	Details	Booking link
Live event explaining the amends and examining example answers alongside the new level descriptors.  (A pre-recorded version of this event will also be made available in advance for those who are unable to attend.)	Thursday 14th December (16:00-17:30)	Booking link   Link to pre-recorded training will be available soon
Interactive training module, reviewing example answers alongside the new mark scheme, allowing you to practice applying the new mark scheme.	On-demand	Link to on-demand training available soon
Question and Answer event, reviewing frequently asked questions and allowing you the opportunity to ask any further questions regarding these amends.	Tuesday 16th January (16:00-17:00)	Booking link
We will publish a range of exemplar answers to help you understand how to apply the amended level descriptors.	To be published in upcoming subject updates
From January, we are offering an additional mock marking service that will use the new mark scheme level descriptors.	This paid-for service will be available from January 2024	Link to mock marking webpage

From January, we will be offering a mock marking and moderation service for GCSE Religious Studies.  

The Pearson Edexcel Mocks Service can help your students gain vital insight into the examination process, while saving you valuable time.  These services will be using the amended level descriptors to give you the opportunity to see how questions perform under the new criteria.  

These services are currently available to order now for the following most popular papers:

Specification A: Paper 1A, Paper 2F, Paper 3A

Specification B: Paper 1B, Paper 2C

*You can request other papers on an ad-hoc basis

What is the Mocks Service?

The Mocks Service for GCSE Religious Studies helps you to achieve consistency in marking across groups of schools, departments and cohorts. Students sit exam papers. The papers are marked by Edexcel senior examiners applying the new level descriptors and the results are uploaded to ResultsPlus for detailed question level analysis.

It is designed to be flexible for your needs:

• Submit entries for the whole qualification or only entries for one paper
• Submit your whole cohort, cohorts across the Trust, a sample, or as few as 5 papers

What is the Moderation Service?

Our moderation service helps support teacher understanding of the Pearson Edexcel mark scheme and provide confidence that marking is consistent across schools, departments and cohorts. Our moderators supply commentaries and reports to help identify areas that need improvement and that could benefit from additional CPD.

We recommend you submit a sample of around 15% of your own marked papers which will be reviewed by our team of Pearson Edexcel moderators. Within 21 days of us receiving your papers, we will provide personalised script commentaries and a detailed moderation report outlining trends and gaps in marking and feedback on student responses.

• Mock Marking service

We have collated all Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies Specification A past questions across years for each paper.  

This provides an overview of the different questions asked on each paper over the qualification cycle so you can see how a topic has been assessed in different ways.  

*You will need your Edexcel Online login to access this as it includes the most recent exam materials.  

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• GCSE Exam Question overviews

For those who are new to this qualification, this video provides a brief overview of our International GCSE RS specification, including the differences between linear and modular routes.  

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Pearson Edexcel is committed to ensuring their qualifications and assessments are the best they can be.  We strive to ensure our qualifications are engaging and that we offer valid assessments which are accessible and provide learners with the opportunity to show their knowledge and understanding.  

We'd love your feedback on our International GCSE Religious Studies qualification (both content and assessment) to understand teacher and learner experiences so, if you have a few minutes to spare, your time and advice would be greatly appreciated!

This survey is anonymous and by submitting a completed survey before the 20th of December, you will be entered into a random prize draw, for a chance to win a £30 Amazon voucher. 

With thanks from the Pearson Edexcel International Religious Studies team.

*Please note, we will only use the information you provide to contact you in connection with RS qualification and resources market research. We will not publish or share this information with any third party without your permission and we will delete your details on completion of the research project. 

• Link to survey

Westminster Abbey Annual Sixth Form Question Time provides an opportunity for students to debate, pose questions to a panel of politicians, activists and faith leaders, discussing their concerns and interests.  

Key information

Date: Tuesday 6th February 2024, 13:30 – 15:00
Location: St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey
Price: £6 per student
Maximum number of students per school: 15

• Access Westminster Abbery Sixth Form Question Time webpage