Theology and Philosophy

Subject Requirements

Candidates should ideally be on track to achieve a grade 8 or 9 at (I)GCSE level in Humanities, which might include Religious Studies. There is, however, no prerequisite to have a (I)GCSE in Religious Studies to embark on the A Level.

Entrance Examination

The entrance examination for Theology and Philosophy does not presume any prior philosophical or theological knowledge. The exam consists of a passage from a philosophical or theological text and questions related to that passage. There is also an essay-type question on a general topic related to philosophy or ethics. Successful candidates will demonstrate a high level of engagement with the questions and a clarity and originality of thought.

Related Downloads

• Further guidance for candidates

Overseas Candidates

There is no (I)GCSE requirement for those who attend schools overseas that do not prepare pupils for (I)GCSE examinations. Candidates will be considered for a place based on their performance in the School’s entrance examinations and a transcript of results from their current school.

Department Contact

Mr Joseph Fenton
joseph.fenton@westminster.org.uk

Lower School

In the Fifth Form (Year 9) we offer a bespoke in-house course on Religion and Philosophy in which we allow pupils to access anthropology, sociology, moral and political philosophy and Biblical hermeneutics. We seek to enable pupils to scrutinise sources, to ask fundamental questions and to begin acquiring the hallmarks of excellent oracy and written argumentation. Pupils are encouraged to participate vocally in the true spirit of Socratic inquiry, but to be grounded in well-reasoned critical opinion. Along with deconstructing the nature of religious belief, we seek to help pupils to be more charitable, understanding and sensitive of the nature of Theology’s relationship with Philosophy, something that those pupils who progress onto the popular Pearson Edexcel IGCSE in Religious Studies develop in greater depth through the study of topics such as rights, equality, and social justice.

Upper School

In the Sixth Form and Remove (Years 12 and 13), we use the OCR Religious Studies A Level to provide a spine for our academic outcomes, but we leave much room for exploring the deeper territories of Theology and Philosophy, which includes core texts like Jean-Paul Sartre’s Existentialism and Humanism, and other additional non-specification material like Virtue Ethics, Free Will and Determinism, and moral psychology. We seek to ensure pupils understand the historic harmony between Theology and Philosophy, and the points at which modernity signifies abrupt ruptures and movement in philosophical thought. Our teaching is discursive, pupil- focused, and the pupils who thrive make utmost use of the classroom as a place to form, refine and shape ideas, ready for excellent critical essay writing. For A Level pupils, the department is a place in which political and legal philosophy, medical ethics, artificial intelligence and genetic technologies can all be explored in a cross-disciplinary way.

^ Acting Head of Department;  † Housemaster;  ~ Acting Housemaster

Mr Alex Bishop (AJSB) — Upper School Expeditions
Mr Joseph Fenton (JMF) — Head of Theology and Philosophy
Mr Teehan Page (TDP)
Prof. Kevin Walsh (KAPW) — Astronomer-in-Residence
The Revd Dan Warnke (DJW) — Chaplain
Mr Thomas Woodrooffe (TDWW) — Head of Options and Cultural Perspectives

Each year, we aim to host an in-house conference with a combination of pupil and external academic expertise on offer. We have worked with the Anscombe Bioethics Centre in recent years. A Level pupils are frequent attendees and presenters at the Young Philosophers Conference held in association with the Royal Institute of Philosophy. Pupils have also entered the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics’ video competition 2023. Pupils often pursue independent work for awards such as the New College of Humanities Prize.

A number of our pupils become members of the team for the Independent Schools Mock Trial Competition. The department’s close connection to the Horizons Lecture Series at Westminster School, the aspiration for which is to expose our pupils to global best practice with the fullness of interdisciplinarity, drives our relationship with international universities.

Theology and Philosophy is a relevant course for those pupils considering reading Philosophy (and related courses such as PPE), Social Sciences or Law at university. Equally it complements those following more analytic disciplines and offers space for developing coherence and cogency in argument – future medics, for example, can find room to deal with complex medical ethical questions.