Aims and Philosophy

The aim of the RE department is to assist Catholic parents in the formation of their Catholic children, redeemed by our Blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, so that they may learn to know, love and serve God in this life and be happy with Him for ever in the next. Parents remain the primary visible teachers in this task of formation; the department serves them in this task by providing interesting and stimulating lessons on a whole host of topics useful for Catholic formation in the 21^st century.

Key Stage Three

We use the Catholic Truth Society’s textbook series called: The Way, The Truth and The Life to help us offer stimulating lessons. Lessons are structured to meet the needs of high ability pupils, average-ability pupils and less able boys. A retreat is conducted in the Second Form. In the past we have gone to Tyburn Convent and St James’, Spanish Place; as well as Farm Street Church, all of which are within walking distance of the School and provide for a memorable day out. The School itself also provides many opportunities for the boys to grow spiritually (Holy Mass, Assemblies, daily recitation of the Angelus, prayers at the start and end of each lesson, opportunities to gain indulgences, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and Confessions on Friday). By lunch-time, a boy at the Vaughan has prayed at least five times – by the end of the day, twice that! Above all, the School wants to help its pupils to know, to practise and to love the Catholic Faith as best they possibly can.

Key Stage Four

St Mark’s Gospel is the shortest of all the Gospels and boys will study it closely. Mark was friends with St Paul and St Peter, and he produced one of the most important texts ever written. It was originally written in Rome as a secret text to embolden Catholics to keep their faith at about the time the Emperor Nero persecuted Christians in the most horrendous ways: feeding them to wild dogs; burning them; crucifixion. Because of this text, many men and women chose to die for their Faith, rather than publicly renounce it or run away. The urgency of Our Lord’s work comes across in the Gospel; and the fact that He suffers so much for us is a tremendous sign of the love He has for our fallen humanity. Both Peter and Paul gained the crowns of martyrdom at about the time Mark wrote. Boys will gain an understanding of this historical background and will then be able to link the good news of the text to their own lives – since the text was written for them and future Catholics, to embolden them to keep the Faith no matter what the cost and to cling to the cross of Christ. After a good grounding in this text, boys will be in a better position to compare it to the three other Gospels later in their lives.

Religion and Life from a Catholic perspective will be the focus; but Reformation traditions are also studied with respect and serious consideration.

Boys will develop a good understanding of the importance of Faith in Jesus Christ in an increasingly secular world. We study why some people do not believe in Christ – even why some are not able to believe in God at all. Pupils will get an understanding what you believe links to moral action and leading a good, happy human life. Pupils will begin to see God’s plan in creation and how that has come under attack by forces many and varied – including the forces of indifference, liberalism and even open hostility by some other religions and secular opposition. He will begin to see how he fits into the story and can start developing ideas of what he wants to do with his life with the gifts and talents Our Lord has given him to “fight the good fight”. The seed of Faith planted in him at his baptism – confirmed at his Confirmation – fed at the Mass - will be further fertilised” with the knowledge he gains from this course. Many pupils find the issues exciting and extremely relevant: the problem of evil; heaven; hell; purgatory; euthanasia; abortion; the role of religion, the Bible and God’s law, Church law (Canon law) and how Christian theology influences current British Law. Paranormal religious experiences, miracles and the power of prayer will be studied. We will look at how our Catholic Faith helps society at large by encouraging justice and social harmony among the races and how moral issues and the role of the family are seen by the Church and why. The class provides a good opportunity for lively debate and will enable boys to think clearly about “meaning of life” issues – boys with a strong, well-formed faith, as well as boys who are struggling with difficulties surrounding belief in Christ – all find the course extremely interesting and provocative. Many parents comment on how challenging the course is for their sons and for themselves as it encourages dialogue at home on these issues – the main source of a boys’ Catholic education. Other religions, Christian and non-Christian are also studied. The classes are taught with conviction but are open to other viewpoints: this enhances our ability to find the Truth and is part of the great Catholic tradition, best seen in the dialectical works of St Thomas Aquinas, whose motto was in fact: Veritas.

At the end of the course pupils will sit two examinations of 2 hours each (four hours total). These are worth 100% of their final mark.

Sixth Form (Christian Theology)

Lower Sixth pupils study the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant; natural law; issues relating to the ethics of creation; and some environmental issues. There is scope to study specific moral questions such as abortion, suicide, and just war theory, to name a few. Pupils also will make a very close study of the Old Testament: a day trip is planned each year to visit the British Museum to see evidence of ancient cultures mention in the Old Testament, as well as Jewish history. This course is no light option. The Old Testament part is very demanding and pupils will struggle with it at the start because of the amount of reading expected. However, those who stick with it find it immensely rewarding and provides a wonderful foundation for the study of theology and the Bible later at university. The ethical parts of the course can provide for compelling debates. The main study is natural law, especially from a Catholic point of view (John Finnis and Thomas Aquinas, for example). But Kant is also crucial in seeing how natural law is viewed without an unblushing religious authority to complement it; an idea of modern intellectual thought is revealed to pupils who are able to contrast such a perspective with that of other sources of authority. This course may help those with an interest in law, as well as religious issues.

Upper Sixth pupils will build on their studies; specific topics have yet to be determined as the syllabus is new.