A-level Religious Studies workshop - Developments in Christian thought with Dr Peter Vardy

An RS conference for sixth form students run in conjunction with Candle Conferences and delivered by their speaker, Dr Peter Vardy.

Students received a full day's lecture of sessions run by Dr Vardy exploring the fundamentals of Christian thought and identifying key debates that have given rise to conflict and diversity. Other sessions covered St Augustine and his contribution to Christian thought and secularism in the 20th century. The day ended with a session covering the ways in which the Roman Catholic Church responded to the emergence of Liberation Theology and the implications of this for understandings of Jesus and of Authority in the Church, interpretation and use of the Bible and the relationship between Religion and Politics. The students were encouraged to debate their views on this as a general roundup to the day's programme and some very impressive and insightful contributions were made. 

Aims

The aims of the conference were for the pupils:

- To enable The King's School and local 6th form Religious Studies students to gain a greater understanding of what is involved in studying the subject at university.
- To access lectures investigating subject topics in greater depth
- To meet others studying the same subject

Background

Organised by the King's School Partnerships / RS department in conjunction with Candlelight Conferences.

Resources

The venue for the workshop was Birley's Pavilion on the King's School site. 

All costs were met by the King's School (speaker fees and expenses, catering, venue use etc). No charges were made to attendees. 

 

Impact

Feedback was taken at the conference and was very positive.

A sample of comments:

 

"We had a wonderful experience - the speaker and the food was amazing!"

"I had a great time! Reallly enjoyed learning about such interesting topics from someone who is immensely knowledgeable.".

"It has been a great day - thank you for inspiring my students."

"Excellent, immersive academic day. Very useful for A Level."

 

 

Pupil Involvement

All pupils attending the conference were in 6th form - mixed male and female

72 visiting pupils

18 King's School pupils