Religious Studies - A Level

Applications Open: 3 November 2025 at 9.00am

Applications Close: 31 January 2026 at 5.00pm

Entry Requirements: At least five GCSE's at grade 4 or above. In addition, you will need to achieve specific subject entry requirements for all subjects.

How to Apply - September 2026 entry

Applications will open on Applicaa on 3 November 2025. Please refer to our Course Guide which lists subjects available along with entry criteria - this can be found on our website under Sixth Form Admissions along with our Admissions Policy. Please note our Course Guide for 2025 entry is currently displayed, Course Guide for 2026 will be available shortly.

If you need advice on Sixth Form courses or completing an application, please email sixthformadmissions@sgschool.org.uk or phone 01892 527444.

When applying students MUST enter three subject choices PLUS a reserve - in preference order - one being first choice and four being the reserve.
Please do not enter a fifth choice. Please note some subjects cannot be studied together - these are indicated on the relevant subject page and also in the Course Guide.

Internal Applicants to Sixth Form (current St Gregory’s students)

Our current students will join a Sixth Form Taster Day in September 2025, this is an opportunity to experience Sixth Form subjects and lessons.

All students will receive ongoing support and guidance with the online application process through discussions with dedicated members of staff, subject leaders and members of the Sixth Form team. Students will also receive a session with an external Careers Advisor.

External Applicants to Sixth Form

External applicants will be required to submit their applications via Applicaa using the link provided on the school website on 3 November 2026.

External applicants will also need to complete a Sixth Form Supplementary Information Form (SIF) if they are Catholic or 'Looked After' children. This can be found on the school website under Learn/Sixth Form/Sixth Form Admissions - Supplementary Information Form 2025-26. This must be returned to sixthformadmissions@sgschool.org.uk by the closing date.

Prospective students may be invited into school for a meeting with the Sixth Form team.

The course provides the opportunity to study some of the fundamental questions which people have always asked: why are we here, how should we behave, what happens to us when we die, how do religions explain and explore their beliefs about God? Students are encouraged to adopt an enquiring, critical and reflective approach to the study of Religious Studies and its different components.

Independent study commitment:

Five hours per week minimum.

The syllabus covers three areas of study:

Philosophy of Religion

• Ancient philosophical influences

• The nature of the soul, mind and body

• Arguments about the existence or non-existence of God

• The nature and impact of religious experience

• The challenge for religious belief of the problem of evil

• Ideas about the nature of God

• Issues in religious language

Religion and Ethics

• Normative ethical theories

• The application of ethical theory to two contemporary issues of importance

• Ethical language and thought

• Debates surrounding the significant idea of conscience

• Sexual ethics and the influence on ethical thought of developments in religious beliefs

Development in Religious Thought

• Religious beliefs, values and teaching, their interconnections and how they vary historically and in the contemporary world

• Sources of religious wisdom and authority

• Practices which shape and express religious identity, and how these vary within a tradition

• Significant social and historical developments in theology and religious thought

• Key themes related to the relationship between religion and society

Assessment: Three two hour examination papers.

GCSE: 5 in RE

Why study Religious Studies?