Welcome to the Religious Studies Department
The Religious Studies department follow the Lancashire Agreed Syllabus for Religious Education and we also teach some of the material and content from the Blackburn Diocese Illuminating Pathways Unit. The RS department helps students to explore Balshaw’s Christian values and as a Church of England High School, we predominantly study Christianity, however we also explore different religious worldviews to prepare our students to engage in a multifaith society. Through the study of RS, we enable students to search for answers to the ultimate and challenging question in life of ‘What does it mean to be human?’. The search for the answers to this question involve numerous challenging and provoking questions such as:
- What is God like? Is there a God?
- Where do we belong?
- What unites us?
- Where can we seek truth and meaning?
- Where can we find guidance about how to live our lives?
Religious Studies Curriculum Implementation
Key Stage Three
Key Stage Four
In Years ten and eleven, short course students study the AQA GCSE specification A, focusing on Christianity and Judaism. In this specification, students explore the key beliefs in Islam and Christianity and the two thematic units which are 'Religion, peace and conflict' and 'Relationships and families'.
From September 2026, all students will study full course Religious Studies.
Religious Studies Department Staff
If you want to speak to a member of the Religious Studies department, these are the members of the department:
Curriculum Leader: Mrs E Latimer
- Mrs K Cherry (Maternity Leave)
- Mr L Matthews
- Mrs C Melia-Taylor
- Mr S Riley (Head of Farington)
- Mr P Smith
