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Welcome back to a new school year and a new season of the RE Podcast. Over the summer, I have recorded a series of episodes to support GCSE RE - specifically AQA Islam and Christianity. If you are a student of GCSE RE, or a teacher of GCSE RE who is new to teaching GCSE, or new to AQA, or you are a teacher from another subject teaching GCSE for the first time, then I hope these episodes are really helpful to you to consolidate learning, or prepare for exams if you are a student, or to help you feel more confident if you are a teacher.

This episode offers an overview of Paper 1 - Religious Beliefs and practices, looking at the structure of the exam, how to do the different exam questions as well as some top tips for the exam. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A COPY OF A NEW STYLE EXAM PAPER TO HAND

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/religious-studies/gcse/religious-studies-8062/assessment-resources?secondaryResourceType=Question+papers%3BMark+schemes%3BAnswers+and+commentaries&limit=50&q=2026

Each episode after that will offer an overview of the main content and apply them to some key exam questions.

Copies of the exam questions used in the episode are below.

Give one Muslim belief about angels. [1 mark]

Answer 1

Muslims believe that the angel Jibril revealed the Qur’an to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) on the night of power.

Answer 2

They are made of light.

Explain two ways in which the problem of evil and suffering influences Christians today. [4 marks]

Answer 1

One way is by trying to reduce as much evil and suffering through being good people. This is because they believe evil and suffering is caused by humans. Another way is by being hopeful of an afterlife. This is because they believe that in heaven there will be no more evil and suffering.

Explain two different ways in which Christians work for reconciliation

Explain two different ways pilgrimage is experienced in Iona

Explain two different religious practices Muslims could perform during Ashura

Explain two different ways in which Muslims may perform Salah

Explain two Christian beliefs about sin. Refer to sacred writings or another source of Christian belief and teaching in your answer

[6 marks]

Answer 1: 3/6

Christians believe sin is bad for us. It affects people negatively.

Christians believe original sin was the first time God was disobeyed. Adam and Eve ate from the tree. ‘The Lord God sent him out the Garden of Eden.

Answer 2: 6/6

One belief is that sin damages the relationship between God and humans. By disobeying God, Christians get further away from God because sin separates God and humans. In the Bible it says; ‘The Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden’. This shows the separation between God and Adam caused by his sin.

Another belief is Adam and Eve committed the original sin – eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil from which God had told them not to eat. All Christians are now born with original sin.

Explain two Muslim beliefs about prophets. Refer to sacred writings or another source of Muslim belief and teaching in your answer

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To finish off the school year in style, I am celebrating the recent Aulre and Areiac conference which took place in Exeter University on 26th and 27th June 2025. We speak with Pat Hanan, Ruth Marx, and Katie Gooch about the history of the two organisations and the planning that went into the conference. I then talk to delegates and speakers throughout the conference, and finally, Ruth, Katie, and Jan Maguire talk to us after the conference to celebrate the joys and successes of what was an incredible and rich two days. We also start looking forward to next year's conference. If you have never attended an Aulre/Areiac conference, I hope this episode whets your appetite and encourages you to join us in Lincoln next year.

It's such a lovely episode to end the year on as it celebrates the RE community as well as the amazing research that is being undertaken to help us be even more brilliant in the classroom.

http://aulre.org/

https://www.areiac.org.uk/

Thank you for listening over 2024/5. Have a summer holiday full of relaxation, joy, laughter, love and I'll be back in September.

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This weekend, 5th / 6th July (10th Muharram), sees many Shia Muslims all over the world mark the Day of Ashura. A commemoration of the martrydom of Muhammad's grandson, Husayn who died standing up for justice. In 2025 this fight is still poignant. Zam Hussain has already done an episode on Ashura which if you haven't listened then please do. But this week he joins us to tell us about his own personal pilgrimage to Karbala to visit the grave of Husayn. In his moving, human and deeply spiritual account of this pilgrimage. We discuss;

• What the pilgrimage is and what happens
• The history of this pilgrimage
• How it links to Shia teachings
• The challenges faced and what practical things were put in place to support the pilgrims
• Fun stories along the way
• The emotions at the grave
• The impact of completing this pilgrimage

Zam has recently had a tattoo relevant to this pilgrimage - listen to find out more!

Please also look at this incredible thread with pictures alongside the episode to get a sense of what it looked like as Zam speaks

https://x.com/MrZHussain/status/1830714068795355512?t=5nJ_45aNpWkWl9gi4cbMug&s=08

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This week, I speak with Alexandra Brown, RE Teacher, speaker, poet, and researcher.

Her unique intersection between race, gender, neurodiversity, and sexuality has caused many people to put up barriers as she attempts to put her research into practice. At great personal cost, she has had to navigate these barriers.

Alex speaks to us with humility and passion, from a place of pain and triumph, about her journey.

And wait till the end for something deeply profound.

To find out more about the work Alex does;

Artistic collaboration (which she does not often get to share)- Entitled ‘ Pain and womanhood

https://magicalwomen.co.uk/project/facilitated-collaboration-for-black-lives-matter/
Below is the link to the artistic reflection Alex did about the initial piece

https://magicalwomen.co.uk/project/alexandra-brown/

She also presented a paper entitled ‘A Black Queering of Encanto: Unearthing atmospheres of violence’
Reparative Queering of Religious Institutions | Queer(ing) Religion conference

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D3Bd0Ypbis&t=1342s

Alex's section is from 22mins 28secs- 45mins 16secs

https://blackfeministcollective.com/contributor-alexandra-brown/

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If you are like me and really struggle to engage in and with REsearch, or know someone who does, then listen to this episode. I have left in parts I usually edit out to give you a sense at how vulnerable I was making this episode, and you will here at the end my leg bouncing with nerves. I have ADHD, so I really struggle to read things, remember things and organise new information. Listen to how Culham St Gabriel have helped me overcome my barriers to research and create some research on those barriers. I really hope it inspires you.

It might also give you an insight into the ADHD minds of your students and explain how the poor behaviour they present is masking an internal struggle they can't articuate.

If you want to find out more about the Culham St Gabriel Scholarship Leadership programme, then click on the link below.

https://www.cstg.org.uk/scholarship-programmes/leadership/

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This year we lost an legend. Words will never be able to capture everything that Dawn was to the RE Community or to her friends and family. But I hope this episode goes some way to pay tribute to the incredible person who was Dawn Cox ,and to say thank you.

We hear written and spoken tributes from Rachael Jackson Royal, Katie Freeman, Nikki McGee, Claire Clinton, Matt Pitcher, Jen Jenkins, Ruth Marx, Richard Farnyfun, Sue Nurse, Saima Saleh, Alice Thomas and Wendy Dossett.

And I speak to Roy - he partner of over 20 years about this brutal loss.

Warning - there are moments of joy and laughter but also moments of sadness and grief.

We will keep the legacy of Dawn alive in our hearts, minds and classrooms.

Here is a link to her blog;

https://missdcoxblog.wordpress.com/

Text and story in RE;

https://www.reonline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Dialog.pdf

Her books;

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Books-Dawn-Cox/s?rh=n%3A266239%2Cp_27%3ADawn%2BCox

Her articles;

https://hwrkmagazine.co.uk/author/dawn-c/

Applying Rosenshine to RE;

https://my.chartered.college/early-career-hub/applying-rosenshine-to-religious-education/

Dealing with diversity;

https://www.retoday.org.uk/uploads/Publications/REtoday%20magazine/REtoday%20%E2%80%93%20Messy%20religion%20and%20belief/Dealing%20with%20Diversity.pdf

BBC coverage;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgp422xljgo

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This Friday will see the release of a special episode celebrating the life and career of the late Dawn Cox.

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Think RE is irrelevant in the 21st Century or think it is only for religious people or can only lead to a career as a vicar or an RE teacher? Think again. RE A-level is dynamic, challenging and essential for life in modern Britain! Just listen and find out.

If you are a parent of a student who wants to take RE A-level, or a student who is thinking of doing it or are not sure, or you are a school leader who wants to understand the value of RE, then listen up!

Young people who are training to be Doctors and Barristers, who work in technology and finance and education speak on how important RE A-level has been in their further study and careers.

To be able to be trained in the art of argument, critical thinking, empathy, out of the box thinking, and much more has enabled them to be successful in a wide variety of careers.

• I chat to five young people who did RE A-level and we discuss;
• Why they choose RE and what they liked about it
• How has RE helped them
• Whether RE is academic?
• Whether you need to be religious to do RS
• Whether you need to have RS GCSE to do RS A-level?
• What advice they would have for someone thinking of doing RS or about to start it

I also chat to Dr. Fazilat Dar, Head of Data Science for TfL about why critical thinking and being able to see things from someone elses perspective are essential skills in industry.

Here are links to the things mentioned in the episode.

Informed Choices

https://www.informedchoices.ac.uk/start

The CBI Scandal

https://www.thecorporategovernanceinstitute.com/insights/case-studies/the-cbi-scandal-highlights-failure-on-every-level/?srsltid=AfmBOooTe5vr-FtGX5-5q36yGs7lrWb-xXTGwxXJe5_kt6qlSjSUOpZ0

David Roden

https://philpeople.org/profiles/david-roden

Simon Jenkins

https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/sci/med/staff/sjenkins/

Wako - David Koresh

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Koresh

Dunning Kruger effect

https://www.google.com/search?q=dunning+kruger+effect&sca_esv=b703f1cd0674f892&rlz=1C1CHBF_en-GBGB1101GB1101&sxsrf=AHTn8zqWUAZg47-JSSu3DsRhTnECqw0Jqw%3A1747077462512&ei=VkkiaP-HH-CBhbIP3P7omAM&oq=dunning+kruger+eff&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiEmR1bm5pbmcga3J1Z2VyIGVmZioCCAAyCBAAGIAEGLEDMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAEMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBRAAGIAESI0fUJsBWNMQcAF4AZABAJgBWaABlgKqAQE0uAEByAEA-AEBmAIFoALCAsICChAAGLADGNYEGEfCAg0QABiABBiwAxhDGIoFwgIOEAAYsAMY5AIY1gTYAQHCAhMQLhiABBiwAxhDGMgDGIoF2AEBmAMAiAYBkAYRugYGCAEQARgJkgcBNaAH3xayBwE0uAewAg&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

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