Why does the rate of entry for GCSE Religious Studies vary so much around England? Does the 2021 census provide part of the answer?
In answer to a parliamentary written question asked by Janet Daby MP and answered by Nick Gibb MP in January, the minister provided a table ranking each local authority in relation to the number of entries for GCSE Religious Studies in 2022. The range is significant; from 14.4% to 81.0%. Looking for an explanation for this gap, we tabulated the percentage of the population in each local authority that recorded they belonged to a religion in the 2021 Census alongside the average entries for GCSE. The correlation is interesting as you will see by the colour coded shading in the last column. Comparisons between the local authorities entering the most and the least students are worth noting as follows:
An average of 57% of the English population, recorded that they had a religion in the 2021 census
An average of 51% of the population, in the bottom 10 LAs in terms of entries for GCSE RS, recorded that they had a religion in the 2021 census
An average of 71% of the population, in the top 10 LAs in terms of entries for GCSE RS, recorded that they had a religion in the 2021 census
The full table can be downloaded here.
Even though this is correlation and not proven causation, SACREs may like to consider the following:
- How do entries in their LA compare with other LAs in their region and nationally?
- Does the census data provide part of the answer or not?
- Why do some LAs buck the trend implied by the census data – i.e. pupils appear to be more likely to be entered for GCSE RS in areas with a larger proportions of people who identify with a religious worldview?
- Might parental views of what their child should study be affecting curriculum design? See CSTG survey of parents here.
- What are the implications of the answers to these questions for Religious Education in England?
Find out more in the document linked below
