AS and A Level OCR Religious Studies Course Companions

Covers all the key knowledge first then goes on to discuss key issues...

...This is useful for students as it develops their AO2, which is a much needed skill for this specification.

R Swindell, RS Teacher & Peer Reviewer

Simplify your planning with these definitive companions - the perfect examination preparation covering all 2016 specification points.

  • Follows the spec order exactly in manageable sections – simple to slot into your scheme of work
  • Special focus on analytical skills, including strengths and weaknesses of debates, to hit AO2 marks
  • Key terms defined throughout to familiarise religious and philosophical terminology

Student-friendly notes provide easy-to-digest information for every topic, while interesting questions and activities throughout engage students and ensure they apply their new knowledge.

  • Including starter activities, active learning tasks, discussion questions, research activities, exam-prep exercises, quizzes with answers, and more!

The writing tasks and discussion prompts will be a valuable help for teachers in planning lessons and homework

R Jowett, RS Teacher & Peer Reviewer

What do teachers say about this resource? (7707)

An excellent resource, it is clearly written and very informative. There is a good range of examples and I think that the layout would be very accessible for students of all abilities... the content is very clear and flows well... the examples provided are very helpful and would provide useful examples in an exam question. I also like the references to key texts within the book which are clearly signposted. In addition the material is suitable for all abilities of students... I think it would make a superb revision guide for students and is better than many of the revision guides I have seen so far. It could also be used as a student activity book with students completing the activities and reading relevent sections as a homework task

S Rann, Head of RS & Peer Reviewer

Great support for teachers and students alike... great in providing a balanced overview of the course, with a good balance of detail and activities. I liked the fact that examples were used throughout the text, for example the secondary precepts used in conjunction with Catholic Church teachings. There is also good use of stretch and challenge opportunities... I liked the use of discussion activities, such as the list of actions for students to try and universalise without contradiction. I also really liked that headings were phrased as questions, which should challenge students to think for themselves and build the critical thinking skills needed for the course and help them when it comes time to answer these types of questions in exams... This resource spans attainment levels. The independent tasks and stretch and challenge will mean that students of all abilities will find the resource useful... It's got a good balance of text and illustrations. The fact that the text is broken up throughout means it won’t put students off and will be really helpful for revision, when students want to find information quickly... It follows the specification really closely and each key point is covered directly... The research tasks offer a platform for guided independent learning. The writing tasks and discussion prompts will be a valuable help for teachers in planning lessons and homework.

R Jowett, RS Teacher & Peer Reviewer

A useful resource that covered all aspects of the specification needed... I liked the stretch and challenge sections as I believe these are useful extras for students aiming for the high marks... it is well written and clearly explained... It covers all the key knowledge first then goes on to discuss key issue points that are raised in the specification... This is useful for students as it develops their AO2, which is a much needed skill for this specification. There are also useful discussion points to help further understanding and basic knowledge tests to check understanding. It is useful the answers have been provided for students... The philosopher boxes were a useful addition both to provide background knowledge and to signify key philosophers and the start of a new section of ethical theory

R Swindell, RS Teacher & Peer Reviewer

Excellent resource. The content was relevant and clearly explained. It works as a support to the text books

J Simpson, RS Teacher & Customer

What do teachers say about this resource? (11342)

This was a really helpful resource for the complex and trickier A2 ethics content. I liked the keywords at the start to help revise. I liked the helpful key thinkers boxes for students to recap the context of the key scholars. I liked the discussion activities and quick quizzes to check knowledge. It matches the specification brilliantly and gives me students what they need to know.

A Sayer, Head of Subject & Peer Reviewer

This resource can be used by pupils as the base of their ‘textbook’ knowledge. If teachers already have sufficient textbooks, that they are happy with, then the resource can be used slightly differently. It can be used by teachers to point out differing explanations for students, where textbooks are confusing or not sufficient for students. It is well-phrased, explained and clearly subtitled. It follows the exam specification clearly.

L, HoD & Peer Reviewer

What do teachers say about this resource? (10346)

I really liked the layout of the resource. Starting each chapter with key-thinkers was a great idea and content was really detailed. I really liked the level of detail in the content because it would enable my top grade students to feel challenged. It included all the key teaching and philosophers from the specification. The activities allow students to reflect on the content and allows them to check their answers. This will be really helpful for revision or consolidation of a topic. The highlighting of the keywords really helps students to reflect on their importance in their essays. I would say that it matches the specification extremely well and includes extra content to support more able students.

A Sayer, Teacher, Examiner & Peer Reviewer

What do teachers say about this resource? (10149)

A great resource that accompanies this specification well. It is well written and breaks down the key concepts i.e. teleological language, this is then taken further with a stretch and challenge for the students. This is great way to challenge higher ability students for this specification. I liked the range of activities that were given, some were discussion based, some were acting upon concepts. I also liked the way the sections were split up. Each section began with what the students will learn, followed by who the key thinkers are for this sections. This was a great way to break down the content for easy following. I believe that this resource enhances learning as it is a great aid to support teaching in the classroom. It stretches and challenges students and also offers quick quizzes so students can test their own understanding of the topics. This is extremely helpful to the teacher as they would be able to see what students have understood and what they have not understood so that they are able to adapt future lessons so suit their learning needs.

L Murley, Teacher & Peer Reviewer

Excellent, well written. Will help students because it is accessible and they would like the activities. Teachers will benefit by having this for background reading and using activities in lessons.

K Parham, RS/Philosophy Teacher & Peer Reviewer

What do teachers say about this resource? (10309)

A comprehensive course companion, of similar depth to some of the text books available. I liked the clear, succinct key terms and definitions. I liked the information given about key theologians at the beginning of the chapters e.g. Augustine and John Calvin. This would really help students to put the chapter into context. It is helpful to have the key terms in bold. The stretch and challenge sections are clearly labelled and would help those of high ability to stretch their learning. It is certainly comprehensive and would be an ideal course companion, either for teaching with, or for students to use at home for additional work.

K Chape, Teacher of RS & Peer Reviewer