1. ITS FOR YOU Religious Studies is designed for people of any faith… and people who have no faith. It is not necessary to have taken Religious studies at GCSE, although students who do have a GCSE in RE will find AS/A level will build on that prior knowledge & understanding.

2. Welcome to AQA GCE RELIGIOUS STUDIES  KEY LEARNING TOPICS IN THE FIRST YEAR: RELIGIONS OF ISLAM & SIKHISM. Need to know all core beliefs and practices.  ‘Shahadah is the most important of the 5 pillars for Muslims’ (15 marks) Explain how Langar ‘is a laboratory of Sewa’ (30 marks)

3. First year…  You’ll take two exams. One in Islam and one in Sikhism.  Each exam lasts 1 hour and 15 minutes  You are required to answer two essay questions from a choice of 4 in each exam

4. Where will success take me?  The skills you learn in Religious Studies will be useful to you in a number of careers; teaching, youth work, journalism, civil service or government to name a few.  If you’re thinking of a career in law or medicine then a RS A Level is looked upon favourably for undergraduate courses too.

5.  ‘Living in a secular society strengthens religious faith’  How far do you agree? 30 marks  A typical A2 question. THE SECOND YEAR (A2) more on the religions and RELIGION & CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY It will refer to religion generally in modern society

6. Transition task, you must do task 1 and pick one of the transition 2 tasks and one of the transition 3 tasks. Transition activity 1: What do these keywords mean :  Tawhid  Shirk  Akhirah  Farz  Haram  Makruh

7. Transition activity 2 ‘Shahadah is the most important of the 5 pillars for Muslims’ (15 marks)  Explain what the Shahadah is  What its role and importance is to Muslims as part of the five pillars  When it is said  Just because its first doesn’t make it the most important.

8. Transition Activity 3: research and answer the following question.  Explain what Muslims believe about Judgement (30 marks)  Include what they believe will happen. When it will happen? What will be taken into account?

9. Think about the following to help you develop your answer. Muslims are expected to do the will of Allah.

10. Transition Activity 2: research and answer this question  Explain how and why the Khalsa was formed (15 marks). Roughly two sides of A4  Refer to what happened, refer to the actual story behind it.  Explain how it was formed and developed, include the actual events, volunteers, amrit.  Explain the reasons for forming the Khalsa, what was happening to the Sikhs at the time?

11.  Explain how Langar ‘is a laboratory of Sewa’ (30 marks) Roughly two sides of A4  Explain what langar and sewa are  What is purpose of it  Why was it started  How does it challenge caste system  Refer to the purpose of selfless service  How is sewa very distinctive to Sikhism in contemporary society Transition activity 3

12. Useful websites for Sikhism  http//www.sikhs.org  http//www.Sikh-history.com  http//www.Sikhnet.com  http//www.Allaboutsikhs  http//www.Sikhstudent.org  http//www.Sikhcybermuseum.org  http//www.Sikhspirit.com  http//www.Sikhmissionarysociety.org

13. Some useful websites for Islam http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ http://www.rsweb.org.uk/ http://www.academicinfo.net/Islam.html http://islam.uga.edu/#islam