Religious Studies subject update

Welcome to your autumn 2026 newsletter

I hope the new term has started positively for you, your colleagues and your students, and that you had an enjoyable and restful summer break.

As we begin a new academic year, I would like to thank you for your continued commitment to supporting and inspiring your students. We remain dedicated to providing high-quality subject support, including resources, guidance and professional development opportunities to help you deliver engaging and effective Religious Studies lessons.

We’d like to take this opportunity to welcome you back and highlight the support and updates available from the AQA Religious Studies team this term.

We’re also pleased to welcome Netesha Butt, our new Subject Support Manager, who will be working alongside me to support you and your department throughout the year.

If any members of your team would like to receive subject-specific updates, they can easily sign up for AQA subject updates , so they’re always informed and part of our community.

We look forward to working with you over the coming year and supporting you in delivering an enriching Religious Studies curriculum.

Best wishes

Jenni King
Subject Lead for Religious Studies

Stay up to date with assessment reform

This autumn, the Department for Education (DfE) is expected to launch its subject content consultation, confirming which subjects will be included in each phase, sharing proposals for phase 1 and inviting teachers, schools and exam boards to give feedback.

There’s nothing you need to do right now. Once the consultation launches, we’ll help you understand what it means and how to have your say.

In the meantime, catch up on our subject webinars to understand what the Curriculum and Assessment Review means for your subject.

You can also join our Teacher Panel to share your views and help shape what comes next.

Community links

• Visit our community links page showing a range of support within the community for teachers of GCSE and A-level Religious Studies.
• Inter Faith Week, 8–15 November 2026: look out for ready to use classroom resources, webinars and a poetry competition from The Faith & Belief Forum.
• Education Recording Agency (ERA): looking for engaging ways to support your GCSE Religious Studies teaching? Our new partnership with ERA gives teachers access to curriculum-mapped, high-quality video and audio content covering topics across the AQA specification. The ERA resource collections can help save planning time, spark discussion and provide students with diverse perspectives on key religious and thematic issues. There will be a Curriculum Connect to look at practical ways to use these resources on 30 September.
• If your students are considering their next steps in higher education in the Religious Studies world, Lancaster University are offering three new undergraduate programmes in Global Religions for 2027. These programmes are designed for students interested in the role of religion globally and its intersections with politics, ethics, philosophy, society and international relations. The new programmes are:
  • Global Religions and Philosophy BA Hons
  • International Relations with Global Religions BA Hons
  • Politics with Global Religions BA Hons

Lancaster University has two Open Days, both running from 9.00am to 4.00pm:

• Book your place for Saturday 12 September
• Book you place for Saturday 17 October

• EDI Matters: if you are interested in Women in Philosophy, check out the resources from Women in Parenthesis, which are connected with our A-level Philosophy Specification and may be useful to teachers of A-level Religious Studies.

These resources will be explored further in a Curriculum Connect session, focusing on practical ways to use them in the classroom.

• Jewish Museum London Teachers’ Evening | 3 November, 5:30–7:30pm – Join the Jewish Museum London for a free, immersive evening exploring the weekly festival of rest, Shabbat, through exclusive objects from our collection, a look inside a real Torah, and a Q&A with a local Rabbi. Leave with fresh ideas and practical classroom resources, while enjoying wine and nibbles with fellow educators.

• Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Many of you will be studying Bonhoeffer as part of your A Level studies.  There have been some recent readings of his work that challenge his rejection of pacifism and suggest that we have been reading him incorrectly. Revd. Joe Haward, Chaplain for Queen’s College, Taunton has been researching this and is happy to discuss his resources with you jah@queenscollege.org.uk

Resource materials

Make sure you’ve got the materials and guidance to create engaging and effective learning experiences. Whether it’s schemes of work, community links or teaching guides, we’ve got what you need.

To access all our resources, visit our Religious Studies web pages. Resources are also available on our  Centre Services secure platform.

Get more with MyAQA

myAQA gives you access to everything you need to plan, teach and assess, including our secure extranet – Centre Services. Here you’ll find essential resources, such as the latest past papers, as well as Teacher Online Standardisation (T-OLS) and much more.

Don’t have a myAQA account yet? Complete a short form to get started. Once your Exams Officer has verified your registration, then you’re ready to go.

Free CPD courses and events – Autumn 2026 

Support your teaching this autumn with our range of free professional development opportunities for GCSE and A-level Religious Studies teachers.

Prefer to learn at your own pace? Explore our on-demand and e-learning courses, which can be completed whenever suits you and your department.

This term, new online training includes:

• GCSE Religious Studies Specification A (8062): support with the new-style questions
• A-level Religious Studies: guidance on AO2 and dialogues

These and other online training resources are available through Centre Services

Also coming this September, our CPD course A-level Religious Studies – Mark scheme guidance and application (AO2), providing guidance on how to apply the mark scheme to 15-mark questions from paper 1 and Paper 2B. 

Student Advisory Group recruitment for 2026/27

Help your learners influence the future of exams

We’re looking for learners to join our Student Advisory Group for 2026/27.  The group gives young people a direct opportunity to share their experiences and views on qualifications, assessments and the wider exam system. Their insights will help shape the future of the curriculum, qualifications and assessments for young people, as well as our work to offer new vocational qualifications.

If you know any learners who may be interested, please encourage them to apply – we’re looking for students who have taken AQA qualifications, though this is not essential, and they can be sitting general or vocational qualifications.

Applications open: Monday 7 September 2026

Applications close: 5.00pm on Monday 21 September 2026

Thank you for helping us raise awareness of this opportunity among your learners. For more information about the Student Advisory Group and details on how to apply, please visit our website.