Independent Schools Religious Studies Association

Contents

John Keast’s address to ISRSA on Assessment in RE 
 

Eamon Duffy on the future of Theology and Religious Studies 
 

Common mistakes in the teaching of Hinduism 
 

Advice to new RE teachers 
 

Thoughts on RE by a Headmaster 
 

Philosophy of Religion and Christian ethics 
 

Letters  
 

Articles from earlier issues  

Science, Religion and Human Nature 

Guide to Websites 

Narrative Criticism in the Classroom

Membership  
 

How ISRSA began  
 

ISRE Syllabus 
 

The aims of ISRSA 
 
 

Start page  

At the recent regional meetings held at the highly successful ISRSA Conference at Hayleybury a number of colleagues reflected on the great difficulty they had in finding well-qualified, enthusiastic and well-balanced new colleagues. We wanted people who cared about both the academic and relational aspects of our discipline and were driven by this and not a desire to convert pupils to their ideology. 

We all have a responsibility to encourage our brightest students into the profession and to ensure that they realise the challenges and delights of teaching. As part of this we should be giving our talented sixth formers the opportunity to teach and be in a classroom other than their own, either while they are in the senior sixth or as undergraduates. 

The ISRSA could do its current and future members a great favour by establishing a list of schools and creating a programme which could be run for those we teach and we would like to see replace us. If anybody would be interested in developing such a scheme please contact me. 

George Casley 
Head of Theology and Religious Studies 
Sir William Perkin’s School 
Guilford Road 
Chertsey 
Surrey KT16 9BN 

Old Books for New 

From chatting to colleagues, it seems that many of us have books (and other resources) for which, for one reason or another, we have no further use. For example, I inherited a department with virtually brand new GCSE textbooks on Judaism, although we do a Christianity based course, another lady I met said she had A Level OT books she no longer used. 

We were not aware of any ISRSA initiative to set up such a ‘resource shop’ and wondered whether it might be possible, perhaps via the web site or a willing volunteer (even me?) to set a system up and ask members if they would be willing to swap, or sell at an appropriate price, such resources.  

Such a physical resource exchange might help people resource new courses, obtain artefacts or books out of print or even get hold of textbooks to complete a set. It would make our budgets go further and would even generate a little extra income. 
 

Julia Bowden 
Head of Religious Studies 
North Foreland Lodge 
Sherfield-on-Loddon 
Hook 
Hants RG27 0HT 
 
 

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