Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies

Welcome to the RMPS Department

Welcome to the RMPS (Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies) department!  You will find us situated in the newly built Millennium wing in the Social Studies area. 

The department’s new name reflects the fact that philosophy plays a greater part in our curriculum than before.  This has come about primarily as a response to the interest shown by the pupils in philosophy.  This may be, in part, due to their avid watching of ‘The Simpsons’, but we in the RMPS department prefer to think that it is due to our approach of firstly, always encouraging the pupils to ask ‘why’, ‘how’, and ‘what’ questions.  Secondly, in addition to the trinity of Knowledge, Understanding and Evaluation skills taught in most social subjects, RMPS uniquely teaches the skill of Reflection. Reflective work with pupils opens up the affective/emotional domain and enables pupils to encounter religious/moral/philosophical content at the level of senses and feelings, rather than at the level of facts.

Our department believes that by learning about and reflecting on people and their beliefs youngsters will grow up to understand that people have different points of view and different opinions.  This helps to develop a tolerant community where people can live together peacefully.  Also, looking at the answers offered by the major religions and famous thinkers to the difficult questions in life, makes us think about our own beliefs. It can help us sort out our own ideas, values and priorities.

Pupils come to RMPS as follows:

S1 – two periods per week (core)
S2 – one period per week  (core)
S3 – one period per week  (core)
S4 – two periods per week (core)
S5/6 seven periods per week (optional Higher/ Intermediate 2 RMPS or Philosophy)