Subject · GCSE and A level
Religious Studies
Which schools in England make Religious Studies a big part of the curriculum, and where results are strongest. Entries and grades from the 2025 performance tables.
What the data says
Religious Studies GCSE was taken in 3,089 schools in England in 2025, with 216,386 entries — about 31% of the Year 11 cohort.
Nationally 32% of entries achieved grade 7 or above. The tables below show the schools where the largest share of pupils take the subject, and where grades are highest (schools with at least 20 entries).
At Saint Mary Magdalene Church of England All Through School (Greenwich) 100% of the year group took Religious Studies.
At A level, Religious Studies was offered in 1,417 schools and colleges, with 12,488 entries — roughly 4% of A level students.
GCSE: schools with the highest share of grades 7–9
Schools with at least 20 entries. England: 32% of entries graded 7–9. High grades often reflect who is admitted (selective and independent schools) as much as teaching.
| # | School | Local authority | Entries | Cohort | Share | Grades 7–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brighton College | Brighton and Hove | 75 | 217 | 35% | 100% |
| 2 | North London Collegiate School | Harrow | 43 | 109 | 39% | 100% |
| 3 | Haberdashers' Girls' School | Hertfordshire | 42 | 124 | 34% | 100% |
| 4 | The Godolphin and Latymer School | Hammersmith and Fulham | 28 | 131 | 21% | 100% |
| 5 | The Leys School | Cambridgeshire | 24 | 95 | 25% | 100% |
| 6 | Hampton School | Richmond upon Thames | 74 | 204 | 36% | 99% |
| 7 | King Edward VI High School for Girls | Birmingham | 46 | 84 | 55% | 98% |
| 8 | Wimbledon High School GDST | Merton | 45 | 102 | 44% | 98% |
| 9 | James Allen's Girls' School | Southwark | 43 | 108 | 40% | 98% |
| 10 | St Helen's School | Hillingdon | 43 | 105 | 41% | 98% |
| 11 | St Dunstan's College | Lewisham | 42 | 115 | 37% | 98% |
| 12 | Wilson's School | Sutton | 186 | 186 | 100% | 97% |
| 13 | Stratford Girls' Grammar School | Warwickshire | 37 | 120 | 31% | 97% |
| 14 | The Perse School | Cambridgeshire | 36 | 196 | 18% | 97% |
| 15 | Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls | Birmingham | 68 | 179 | 38% | 97% |
| 16 | Royal Grammar School Guildford | Surrey | 57 | 145 | 39% | 96% |
| 17 | Dr Challoner's High School | Buckinghamshire | 84 | 183 | 46% | 96% |
| 18 | Reigate Grammar School | Surrey | 28 | 163 | 17% | 96% |
| 19 | Wycombe Abbey | Buckinghamshire | 55 | 186 | 30% | 96% |
| 20 | Emanuel School | Wandsworth | 27 | 184 | 15% | 96% |
| 21 | Lancaster Girls' Grammar School | Lancashire | 27 | 141 | 19% | 96% |
| 22 | Withington Girls' School | Manchester | 26 | 83 | 31% | 96% |
| 23 | Bancroft's School | Redbridge | 51 | 116 | 44% | 96% |
| 24 | Forest School | Waltham Forest | 50 | 151 | 33% | 96% |
| 25 | City of London School for Girls | City of London | 48 | 100 | 48% | 96% |
| 26 | Newcastle High School for Girls GDST | Newcastle upon Tyne | 24 | 69 | 35% | 96% |
| 27 | The Henrietta Barnett School | Barnet | 24 | 104 | 23% | 96% |
| 28 | Benenden School | Kent | 23 | 93 | 25% | 96% |
| 29 | Woodford County High School | Redbridge | 45 | 181 | 25% | 96% |
| 30 | Leicester Grammar School Trust | Leicestershire | 45 | 130 | 35% | 96% |
| 31 | Aylesbury High School | Buckinghamshire | 43 | 181 | 24% | 95% |
| 32 | Dunottar School | Surrey | 21 | 79 | 27% | 95% |
| 33 | St Mary's School Ascot | Windsor and Maidenhead | 61 | 61 | 100% | 95% |
| 34 | Dartford Grammar School for Girls | Kent | 60 | 176 | 34% | 95% |
| 35 | City of London School | City of London | 20 | 148 | 14% | 95% |
| 36 | Lady Eleanor Holles School | Richmond upon Thames | 36 | 110 | 33% | 94% |
| 37 | Haberdashers' Boys' School | Hertfordshire | 52 | 156 | 33% | 94% |
| 38 | Caterham School | Surrey | 52 | 152 | 34% | 94% |
| 39 | Michaela Community School | Brent | 116 | 117 | 99% | 94% |
| 40 | Oxford High School GDST | Oxfordshire | 32 | 92 | 35% | 94% |
A level: schools and colleges where the largest share of students take Religious Studies
Entries as a share of A level students (at least 30 A level students and 10 entries). England: 4% of A level students.
What pupils learn in Religious Studies, stage by stage
England has no national year-by-year syllabus: exam boards and schools set the order within each stage. These are the statutory blocks from the Department for Education, so a parent can see what a child meets in Years 7–9, what every GCSE candidate must cover, and what waits in the sixth form.
Years 7–9Key Stage 3
not offered as a separate subjectYears 10–11GCSE
33learning outcomes · statutory GCSE subject content; Higher-tier-only outcomes are markedYear 12A level, typically first year
25learning outcomes · content also examined at ASYear 13A level, second year
19learning outcomes · A level-only contentWhat GCSE Religious Studies teaches · Years 10–11
33 learning outcomes from the Department for Education’s statutory subject content, grouped by topic. Each outcome belongs to one of twelve fields of knowledge used across startfrom.today: Arts & Humanities (20), Social & Cultural Skills (13). Exam boards add detail on top of these; the outcomes themselves are the same whichever board a school uses.
Subject content requirements6
- explain the key beliefs, teachings and practices of a religion — practice, religious belief, teaching
- explain sources of wisdom and authority, including scripture, that support religious faith — scripture, source of wisdom and authority
- explain the influence of religion on individuals, communities and societies — community, individual, religion, society
- compare common and divergent views within and between religions — common view, divergent view, religion
- analyse a question related to religious belief and values — religious belief, religious value
- construct a balanced argument on a matter of religious belief or value — balanced argument, religious belief
Part One: Study of religions9
- explain a religion's beliefs about God, gods or ultimate reality — belief, god, ultimate reality
- explain the key moral principles and meaning of human life taught by a religion — meaning of life, moral principle
- describe the role of a religion's community of faith — community of faith
- describe how a religion's beliefs and teachings are applied in worship, prayer and ritual — prayer, ritual, worship
- describe a religion's festivals, fasting and rites of passage — fasting, festival, rite of passage
- describe a religion's key religious texts, figures and sources of wisdom and authority — religious text, scripture, source of authority
- explain the influence of religious belief on ways of life and moral codes — moral code, way of life
- explain how religious belief is expressed through art, architecture and music — architecture, music, religious art
- compare common and divergent views within a religious tradition on a belief or teaching — divergent view, religious tradition
Part Two: Textual studies3
- explain the significance and influence of a primary religious text for a community — influence, primary religious text
- explain how interpretation of a religious text gives rise to diversity within a tradition — interpretation, religious diversity
- evaluate how far a community gives authority to a religious text — authority, religious text
Part Two: Religious, philosophical and ethical studies in the modern world15
- explain the significance of a key event in the life of a religious founder or figure — key event, religious founder
- explain a religious text's influence on law making and codes for living — moral code, religious text
- explain the meaning of a religious story or parable — parable, religious story
- evaluate religious teachings on marriage, cohabitation and divorce — divorce, family, marriage
- evaluate religious teachings on the roles of men and women and gender equality — gender equality, religious teaching
- evaluate religious views of the origins and value of the universe and human life — creation, origins of the universe
- evaluate religious beliefs about death and an afterlife — afterlife, death
- evaluate ways in which God, gods or ultimate reality might be understood — enlightenment, miracle, revelation
- evaluate religious attitudes to war, pacifism and just war theory — just war theory, pacifism
- evaluate religious concepts of justice, forgiveness and reconciliation in conflict — conflict, forgiveness, reconciliation
- evaluate religious views on the causes of crime and the aims of punishment — crime, forgiveness, punishment
- evaluate religious attitudes to the death penalty and the treatment of criminals — death penalty, treatment of criminals
- compare inclusivist, exclusivist and pluralist attitudes to other religious views — exclusivism, inclusivism, pluralism
- evaluate religious responses to issues of human rights and social justice — human rights, social justice
- evaluate religious attitudes to prejudice, discrimination, wealth and poverty — discrimination, poverty, prejudice
Source: DfE GCSE religious studies subject content (2015), Open Government Licence v3.0. Outcomes are split into single actions and rewritten only where the original bundled several; wording otherwise follows the DfE text. Methodology.
What A level Religious Studies teaches · Years 12–13
44 learning outcomes from the Department for Education’s statutory subject content, grouped by topic. Each outcome belongs to one of twelve fields of knowledge used across startfrom.today: Arts & Humanities (33), Social & Cultural Skills (8), Transversal Skills (3). Exam boards add detail on top of these; the outcomes themselves are the same whichever board a school uses.
Systematic study of one religion7
- explain religious beliefs, values and teachings including their historical variationYear 12 · AS — religious belief, religious teaching
- explain sources of wisdom and authority including scripture and key religious figuresYear 12 · AS — religious authority, scripture
- describe practices that shape and express religious identityYear 12 · AS — religious identity, religious practice
- evaluate the impact of secularisation, science and pluralism on religious thoughtYear 13 — religious pluralism, secularisation
- compare the ideas of at least two key scholars on religion and beliefYear 13 — comparative theology, scholarly interpretation
- evaluate themes in the relationship between religion and society such as equalityYear 13 — religion and society, religious freedom
- explain how developments in religious belief have interacted with philosophy and ethicsYear 13 — interdisciplinary influence, religious development
Philosophy of religion7
- evaluate arguments for and against the existence of GodYear 12 · AS — existence of god, philosophical argument
- explain the nature and influence of religious experienceYear 12 · AS — religious experience
- evaluate the problem of evil and suffering as a challenge to religious beliefYear 12 · AS — problem of evil, suffering
- explain key concepts and thinkers in the philosophy of religionYear 12 · AS — key thinker, philosophical concept
- evaluate the verification and falsification debate about religious languageYear 13 — religious language, verification and falsification
- compare the ideas of at least two key scholars in the philosophy of religionYear 13 — philosophy of religion, scholarly interpretation
- explain how the philosophy of religion has interacted with ethics and textsYear 13 — interdisciplinary influence
Religion and ethics6
- explain ethical language and concepts through the works of key thinkersYear 12 · AS — ethical language, moral philosophy
- compare normative ethical theories including deontological and teleological approachesYear 12 · AS — deontological ethics, teleological ethics
- apply ethical theory to personal, societal or global issuesYear 12 · AS — applied ethics, ethical issue
- explain meta-ethical theories and concepts such as free will and conscienceYear 13 — conscience, free will, meta-ethics
- compare the ideas of at least two key scholars on religion and ethicsYear 13 — religious ethics, scholarly interpretation
- explain how the study of ethics has interacted with religious belief and interpretationYear 13 — interdisciplinary influence, religious ethics
Textual studies7
- analyse the meaning, context and literary features of a religious textYear 12 · AS — historical context, literary analysis, sacred text
- explain the role of a religious text in law making and codes for livingYear 12 · AS — religious law, sacred text
- explain issues arising from the formation, transmission and translation of religious textsYear 12 · AS — textual transmission, translation
- evaluate the religious and cultural significance and influence of a religious textYear 12 · AS — cultural influence, textual significance
- evaluate modern critical scholarship and commentary on a religious textYear 13 — critical scholarship, textual commentary
- explain methods and methodology used in textual interpretationYear 13 — hermeneutics, interpretation methodology
- evaluate scientific and historical-critical challenges to the authority of religious textsYear 13 — historical criticism, textual authority
Requirements within any chosen approach7
- explain how religious thought and practice are expressed in communities and societiesYear 12 · AS — community, religious expression
- explain how religious texts and sources of authority are interpreted and appliedYear 12 · AS — religious authority, textual interpretation
- evaluate major issues and challenges within the study of religion such as toleranceYear 12 · AS — interreligious dialogue, religious tolerance
- explain the causes of similarities and differences within religious traditionsYear 12 · AS — comparative religion, religious diversity
- evaluate questions and arguments posed by scholars within and outside religious traditionsYear 13 — religious tradition, scholarly debate
- explain social, religious and historical factors that have shaped the study of religionYear 13 — historical development, study of religion
- analyse connections between different areas of religious studies contentYear 13 — interdisciplinary connection, synthesis
Skills10
- select and apply specified religious knowledge to answer questionsYear 12 · AS — exam technique, knowledge application
- construct well-informed and reasoned arguments substantiated by evidenceYear 12 · AS — evidence, reasoned argument
- interpret and evaluate religious concepts, texts and sources criticallyYear 12 · AS — critical interpretation, religious source
- present clear and coherent responses to questions on religious studiesYear 12 · AS — coherent argument, written communication
- use specialist religious studies language and terminology appropriatelyYear 12 · AS — specialist terminology
- analyse questions, arguments, ideas and issues arising from the study of religionYear 12 · AS — critical analysis, religious issue
- discuss religious issues in debate while respecting differing viewpointsYear 12 · AS — religious debate, respect for diversity
- critically evaluate the views and arguments of scholars and academicsYear 13 — critical evaluation, scholarly argument
- explain the influence of social, religious and historical factors on the study of religionYear 13 — historical influence, study of religion
- analyse connections between different elements of the religious studies courseYear 13 — interdisciplinary connection, synthesis
Source: DfE GCE AS and A level religious studies subject content (2016), Open Government Licence v3.0. Outcomes are split into single actions and rewritten only where the original bundled several; wording otherwise follows the DfE text. Methodology.