How Parents Can Help Their Teen Succeed in A-Level Religious Studies
Discover practical ways to help your teenager build the study habits, confidence and subject knowledge that lead to A and A* grades.
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Congratulations!
Your teenager has just finished their GCSEs. It’s quite a landmark in their life, and they should rightly be recognised for it. Whatever the outcome on 20th August, you know how hard they worked and that they deserve to do as best as they can.
Congratulations too that they’ve chosen religious education and philosophy for their A-level.
Granted, as a religious studies and philosophy nerd myself, I’m biased. But I truly believe this subject is the very best for creating really rounded, intelligent, open-minded and critical individuals, which the world needs in the future.
You should be very proud.
So, what now?
If your child is anything like mine, right now they’re probably just… floating. They finished GCSEs three weeks ago, and since then have seemed to have filled their time with - not a lot. Maybe a brief holiday with friends, lots of time on the PlayStation or TikTok, or probably both at the same time. (Don’t pretend you haven’t noticed).
Possibly, they’re helping a little more around the house. They’re making themselves useful while you do your own thing?
The thing is this.
A-levels are very different from GCSEs. If your child wants to achieve well - even to A or A* grades - they soon need to turn their attention back to learning.
Before they get out of the habit. Before they forget how to learn. Before they lose the momentum and the motivation they had before those all-important GCSE exams.
Time to get started
The thing about A-level religious studies and philosophy, whatever the exam board (AQA, Eduqas, OCR or Edexcel), there’s a lot of material to learn, and not much time.
It’s not a two-year course. It’s four terms, or maybe five at a stretch. The rest is revision, honing exam skills, and developing critical thinking that is going to get your child to those high A and A*s.
Add to that applications to Uni or other post-A-level opportunities, visits, writing personal statements, dealing with funding, and making really tough decisions about living at home, in student accommodation, leaving friends and making new ones… there really is not that much time in the next two years. Indeed, A-levels are finished - done - by June in the second year.
That’s no time at all.
The great news is that you and your child can get started right now. They can start strongly come September, and that first religious education and philosophy class.
Because there won’t be a few easy weeks of welcome for your child. There won’t be basic classes to ease new students into their studies. The A-level syllabus, and its teachers, don’t have time for that.
In fact, your child will be expected to come to that very first class not only ready to learn, but - if they want an A or A* - with a good background knowledge and the beginnings of a skill set that will help them make the most of every minute of class time they get.
Thankfully, there is a lot you can do as a parent and carer to prepare kids for the challenge ahead.
First things first
The first is to get them started and out of the mindset that they don’t have to do anything until after GCSE results day.
Help them create good habits, including providing a space
Once your student has had a decent rest, it is time for them to get started on their studies for A-level religious studies and philosophy.
The way I see it, that’s right now.
Sit down with them and work out how much time they think they can dedicate weekly, or even daily, to preparation for their studies. (I’m not pretending this conversation is going to be easy - they’ll probably be outraged).
Even just a few hours a week is better than nothing. My sound advice would be to dedicate at least three hours a week for each A-level (assuming they’re doing three), for the first half of the summer break.
This should gradually grow to two hours per A-level in the second half of the summer break.
That gives them - by August - six hours of religious education per week - just one hour a day, with a rest day.
Seems like a lot? If your child wants the highest grades - those As and A*s - and the opportunity to apply to the best higher education universities and other opportunities, it’s going to take work.
Work with them to make this a habit. Ensure there’s a quiet space for them in the house, whether at a desk in their bedroom, or a kitchen table which is ‘protected’ at a certain time.
It is vital that they get into the habit of sitting in this space for an hour, no phones, no devices, no distractions. They might want to start in 20-minute stretches (a timer is good here), but I strongly urge you to help develop the resilience and stamina to go for a full hour.
Bribe them with a treat, for when they’ve finished the hour.
Eventually, though, they should be self-motivated. They should want to sit down and do religious education and philosophy because they enjoy it, they’re discovering new things, and they’re excited by the new skills they’re learning.
And they can’t wait to show all that off when they start A-levels in September.
But what should they be doing?
Let’s start with what they should not be doing.
They should not be writing learning calendars. Endless lists of what they think they’re going to learn. They shouldn’t be getting out the highlighters and creating wonderful diagrams of their plans for each hour they’re going to spend during the summer.
This is not learning. This is distraction. This is GCSE activity, not A-level.
They should be learning from minute one of the very first 20 minutes of their religious education and philosophy sessions.
This is where you come in
Every exam board provides a detailed specification of what pupils will need to know in their religious education and philosophy A-level.
You can print these off in a matter of minutes and place them in-front of your child.
Timetable done. All they have to do is tick off the subjects as they go through, learning the basics of each subject. (I’ve provided direct links at the bottom of this article).
For each of the topics, your child can do intelligent web searches, read Wikipedia pages and other online articles, watch YouTube videos, listen to podcasts and more.
The basics of everything they need to learn are already out there. For example, your student definitely will learn at A-level:
- The problem of Evil
- Arguments for the existence of God
- Utilitarianism
- Religious language
- Miracles
That’s three or four weeks of content right there. Try the above as Google prompts, and you’ll see how much there is out there.
The vital part of this is that your child writes notes by hand.
Yes, you read that correctly.
BY HAND.
Except for those who need to type because of dexterity problems, sound evidence shows that writing by hand helps to embed knowledge into the long-term memory. Simply watching a YouTube video or reading an article won’t do that by itself. Your child needs to make handmade notes.
Note too, A-level religious education and philosophy comprises three written exams. I’ve seen pupils’ hands ceasing up because they’re not used to writing with a pen. They need to practice this skill as much as any other.
Develop their argumentative skills
I hear you. They’re already very good at arguing why they shouldn’t empty the dishwasher, make their bed, or look after their siblings.
But I mean something different.
A-levels are very different from GCSEs. In the former, the emphasis is on learning, then being able to recite facts, ideas, and other’s opinions. At A-level, that’s a minimum requirement.
Much more, your students will need to full understand ideas, be able to compare one with another, and to criticise them, as well as offer their own opinions.
This simply cannot happen only in the classroom.
Your child needs to develop their critical skills before they walk into their first lesson. The best way to do this is to look at key ideas around a subject and ask whether they agree or disagree, and try to explain why.
What are the contradictions this subject brings up? What are the consequences of this theory? Would I propose this theory to a crowd of people, and if so, how would I argue it? How would I argue in the opposite direction?
One way they can do this is through ‘Socratic Questioning’. This is something they may not be directly taught in the classroom, but it is a vital tool for developing arguments and critical skills.
Socratic Questioning is simply this: for every question or idea that is posed, they ask the question: ‘Why’? ‘Can you go deeper’? ‘Can you explain that in more detail’?
Here’s an example:
Person 1: “I believe in God”
Person 2: “Why?”
Person 1: “Because I believe God exists?”
Person 2: “What do you mean by belief?”
Person 1: “That I’m sure.”
Person 2: “What do you mean by sure?”
Person 1: “I hold it in my heart.”
Person 2: “Do you think that is evidence?”
Person 1: “It’s my personal experience.”
Person 2: “Is that sufficient evidence for someone else?”
Person 1: “It’s enough for me.”
Person 2: “What would have to happen, to shake that certainty?”
And on, and on.
The idea of Socratic Questioning is that there are no actual answers, just more questions. If your child can maintain this questioning attitude and apply it to the biggest religious and philosophical questions at A-level, they are already operating at least at a high C grade, probably at a B level.
Make it a habit, and those A and A* will soon come into view.
There is no better place to start than in a book
At A-level your child is not a student but a scholar. There’s a distinct difference.
A student learns what they are told. A scholar seeks knowledge, compares, and develops their own opinions before being able to articulate it all in a comprehensive, structured, and understandable way.
The very best thing you can do for your child at this stage is to encourage them to read around religious education and philosophy.
If they can read three relevant books during the summer break, they will already be way ahead of others in their cohort and already developing the knowledge and skills we’ve talked about.
My must-read books ahead of religious education and philosophy A-level include:
Sophie’s World, by Jostein Gaarder. It is written as a novel, but is an easy-to-read summary of the major philosophers and philosophical ideas from ancient Greece to modern times.
Mark’s Gospel (not just for students doing Christianity, but for all A-level religious education and philosophy students) as it grounds everyone in the Christian foundations of what they will be learning. It’s very short, and will take just 45 minutes to read.
Utilitarianism, by John Stuart Mill, contains ethical ideas that your child will study at A-level. Given how short it is, the moral influence of Mill’s philosophy is huge.
Mere Christianity, by C.S.Lewis. The author of the Narnia Chronicles was also a deep religious thinker, and this book sets out key ideas about God, reason, mortality, and ethics in Christianity.
The Language of God, by Francis Collins, argues that science and religion are more than compatible. They complement each other. Great reading on key topics in A-level.
If your child is studying a particular faith and worldview as part of their A-level, I have ready-made lists of essential reading and listening to get them started. Drop me a line.
Talk, talk, talk… and encourage disagreement
This July and August and next might well be the last ‘proper’ summer holiday you have with your soon to be A-level student, who by this time next year will hopefully be deep in study.
Take the opportunity now to talk about religious and philosophical ideas, even if you do not know of this stuff yourself.
Ask your child over breakfast, or instead of watching Traitors - Why do people think God exists? What do different faiths believe? Why should I pick up litter if no-one else does? It is always wrong to murder?
Actually, watch Traitors together and ask: Is it always okay to lie? Can betrayal ever be a good thing? What if everyone behaved like a Traitor or like a Faithful? Is it okay for Claudia Winkleman to have bangs that straight?
Allow your child to give you their full knowledge and opinion, and then… disagree with them. Even if you don’t believe it, and it’s the most outrageous thing in the world, give an outrageous opposite opinion.
No, Jesus didn’t exist. No, anyone should murder anyone anytime. We pay the council to pick up our litter, so we should be free to drop it. Claudia looked much better when she offered makeup tips on breakfast TV.
If you have the benefit of travelling this summer, or if you’re at home sheltering from the sweltering, get your family to put their phones away and play some creative games:
The Hot Air Balloon. Each member of the family takes on a persona, Donald Trump, Madonna, Einstein, Elsa from Frozen, Mohammad, Charles Darwin. The balloon is losing height, and each individual has to argue why they should stay in the basket, and why someone else should be thrown over the side. After everyone has spoken, everyone gets a vote. The one with the most votes is out of the game, but may stir up the others by dropping arguments, contradictions and generally being a pain.
I couldn’t disagree more. Can be played by two people or more. Person one makes a perfectly reasonable statement: ‘there should be speed limits on every road’. The others start with the statement: “I couldn’t disagree more…”, and have to make a sensible argument in the exact opposite direction. Take this to absurdity, and it’ll challenge everyone’s ideas of morality.
Would you rather? Religious Education and Philosophy edition. A game for two or more, with a theology and philosophy twist. Would you rather live forever or know the date of your death? Why? Would you rather be Jesus, or one of his disciples? Would you save one loved one, or five strangers? Would you prefer to be certain that God exists or not, or is it better not knowing? If the vibe is good, you can push it further: Euthanasia or life at all costs? Would you rather be Christian, Jewish, or Muslim now in the UK? What about in history?
Conclusion
I hope I have been able to give you an idea of how to inspire your child to think about their A-level religious education and philosophy, even though their GCSEs are a relatively recent memory they might want to forget.
But if they want the A and A* grade you know they can achieve, they need to maintain the learning habit they had when those exams were happening, and build up to their first A-level class as a mature, independent learning, with the basic knowledge and skills they need at a more academic and difficult level.
I wish you and your child the very best.
For my free guide to the 10 Mistakes Students Make in their Religious Education and Philosophy A-Levels, click here.
I welcome any comments, as well as queries about how I might help.
Gideon Burrows
Religious Education and Philosophy Tutor
www.religious-studies-tutor.co.uk
NEW! - I've set up an exclusive Facebook Page for parents of A-Level students: Join us here to discuss, as questions, get insights and share experiences.
Visit: The RE & Philosophy Parent Hub