Salvation: GCSE Religious Studies Lecture Series with Dr Peter Vardy

Our "Salvation" GCSE event, which was sadly cut short by COVID in Spring 2020, has been re-engineered and will move online this year.  Through the weekly lectures, Dr Peter Vardy will aim to extend and enrich your Year 10-11 GCSE students’ knowledge & understanding of core concepts within GCSE Religious Studies and support the development of strong skills in analysis and evaluation. 

The short, pacy and engaging lectures will cover topics specified by ALL EXAMINATION BOARDS for GCSE Religious Studies as part of the Christianity: Beliefs and Teachings and the most popular Thematic Studies modules. Some reference will also be made to Islam and Judaism, helping students to think laterally and extend their understanding.

Sessions include:

1. The Nature of God (14th April)

This introductory lecture will consider the reasons that Christians have for believing in God. After providing a brief overview of rational arguments for the existence of God – causation and design – and sources of revelation – religious experiences and scripture – we will consider what each approach suggests about the nature of God, reflecting on the difficulty of describing God in words or pictures and opening up how believers use metaphors and symbols as well as the doctrine of the Trinity.

2. Sin and Salvation (21st April)

In the second lecture, we will move on to consider key Christian beliefs about Jesus Christ, as Messiah and as Son of God. Jesus’ place in the story of the Bible will be explained, along with the concepts of Covenant, Sin, Sacrifice and Atonement, and Christian beliefs about Salvation, who will be saved, how and why, will be explored.

3. Life after Death (28th April)

In the third lecture we will move on to consider diverse Christian beliefs about life after death, as well as the sources and reasons for these. Christian beliefs will be compared and contrasted with Jewish and Muslim beliefs and the impact of believing in judgement and an afterlife on religious observance and/or moral decision-making will be explored.

4. The Sanctity of Life: Abortion & Euthanasia (5th May)

In the final lecture, we will turn to the application of Christian beliefs to two of the most controversial issues in medical ethics, abortion and euthanasia. The central question of personhood will be considered, along with beliefs about the sanctity of life, dignity and agape, Christian love, and how they influence and shape diverse Christian attitudes and teachings.

The series will end with the launch of a national mini-essay competition, with a submissions deadline of 1st June 2021.

• The winner will receive a cheque for £200 and their school will receive either a goody-bag of books and teaching resources from Candle Conferences or a free half day Bespoke Event, once the COVID 19 restrictions are lifted.
• Runner-up prizes may also be awarded, at the discretion of the judges.
• The best submissions will be published as part of a digital journal that will be provided to all those who participated in the lecture-series for the Autumn Term 2021.

The lecture series comes with a detailed pack of digital resources to print off for your students. These feature summaries of the topic-content as well as learning activities, advice on structuring the AO2 12/15 mark questions, revision tips and much more.  The idea is that they will fill in parts of the resources during the lectures, then refer back to them later, whether as part of lessons or revision.

"We regularly attend and host. Our students love them, they are enthused and really benefit” 

“…they find them really useful and challenging. So much relevant modern content!” 

Save RE Facebook Comments, January 2019

To Book 

Logon links for the SALVATION GCSE lecture series must be purchased online through Ticket Tailor and cost £100, for unlimited numbers of students and including digital resources and an .mp4 recording of the lectures, both of which can be used year after year within the booking school. 

Links may be used to broadcast the lectures live to an assembled group of students in school. Alternatively, if this is impossible and/or the students are working from home, an .mp4 recording of each event will be provided to the school after the live event has concluded. 

With Candle you get: 

• Up-to-date content made engaging and tailored to the real needs of GCSE students. 
• Sessions and resources designed by practicing teachers with a record of engaging students of all abilities. 
• Easy, secure online bookings with no fees to pay; just print off e-tickets. 
• A real teacher to speak to on the telephone or e-mail and social media support on twitter @PuzzleVardy & facebook @CandleConfs - e-mail: info@candleconferences.com, Tel: 0208 133 2241