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Eleventh annual increase in number of students taking Religious Education GCSE

27 August 2009

 

Highest number ever of GCSE students opt to explore the world through lens of faith

 

A 1.8 per cent rise in the number of students taking Religious Education at GCSE level marks the eleventh annual rise in entrants for the subject, according to figures released today. More than 182,000 students across the UK are receiving news of their grades for full course Religious Education, which also sees a rise in the proportion taking the subject. Today’s results indicate that 73.4 per cent of RE students achieved a grade between A* and C (compared to 72.5 per cent last year).

Among subjects with more than 75,000 entrants, RE has remained in the top five for increasing entrants this year, building on a 4.7 per cent increase between 2008 and 2007 and a 7.2 per cent increase between 2006 and 2007.

Today’s results also show that the number of students taking the GCSE short course in Religious Education fell against last year to 286,941, although the proportion taking the course within the total number of short course papers sat rose slightly.

Jane Brooke, the Church of England’s RE Development Consultant, comments: “Another year of increased numbers of entrants, and another year of evidence that young people are craving a detailed exploration of the major religions along with contemporary issues that RE offers. They appreciate the impact that faith has across the private and public spheres of life, and want to gain a better understanding of what that means.

“The majority of GCSE students are actively choosing to spend their time studying what they and others believe or don’t believe, and this exploration deserves to be supported with adequate resources and time.”

The period of uncertainty and decision-making now facing many young people has led the Church of England to issue special prayers on its website for all those receiving exam results this summer. In addition to a podcast of these prayers available on the Church’s website and via iTunes, short versions of these prayers will be ‘tweeted’ today via Twitter to the Church of England’s 3,500 followers on the social networking tool.