Autumn 2025 newsletter: Religious Studies

Welcome to our Autumn 2025 newsletter

We hope the new term has started well for you all after a good summer break. At this busy time, we wanted to offer some important reminders and updates to support you throughout the coming year.

We’re looking forward to working with you over the year ahead and receiving the Government’s Curriculum and Assessment review when it’s published. In this email you’ll find all the information to get you started this term.

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.

Esther Zarifi
Subject Lead – Religious Studies and Philosophy

myAQA

Sign up to myAQA to get quick access to resources, CPD training and events, Data Insights (our results analysis tool) and much more this autumn term. Make sure you’ve filled in your myAQA profile including your role and subject specialism so we can instantly start connecting you with the tools, training and resources most relevant to you.

Once you’re logged into your myAQA account, you can also access Centre Services.

myNetwork

Curriculum Connect: Exploring summer 2025

Join us for this event where we’ll share high-level insights into the data from the summer series, key findings from the examiners reports and areas for improvement to support student progress.

Book your slot now!

• Curriculum Connect: Exploring Summer 2025 for both GCSE and A-level RS 
• Curriculum Connect: GCSE Spec A and Short Course assessment updates for 2026

myResources

Find everything you need on myAQA

• 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 the resources, visit the plan, teach and assess tabs on our Religious Studies web pages. Resources are also available on our Centre Services secure web page. 
• Have you got questions about question types? Make sure you download a copy of the updated Teaching Guide for a full set of useful info about the GCSE course.
• For the GCSE Spec A and Short Course assessment updates we have a full set of SAMs available, as well as exemplar responses.
• A-level Religious Studies - we've full sets of Vocab and a Resource List available. 
• Data Insights on Centre Services - see how your school, subject, class and individual students have performed and dig deeper into your students’ results. 
• Find summer 2025 question papers, mark schemes, and examiners’ reports, all in one place on Centre Services. See what is available and when.
• You can find each of the grade boundaries on our website and the overall results statistics with cumulative pass rates for the whole AQA cohort. 

mySupport

We’re delighted to introduce our ‘Free at 3’ appointments. If there’s something you’d like to discuss, we’d love to hear from you. Available to drop-in between 3.00pm and 4.00pm, find a date that suits by using the Free@3 link to book your slot in mySupport.

Login to myAQA for post-results services to find information and deadlines and easy summary guide.

myTraining

• There are plenty of religious studies training events this term, both live and on demand.
• Join us for live events on Mark Scheme Guidance
• New colleagues in the department, or in need of a refresher? Check out our Getting Started e-learning modules.
• Keep an eye out for more training events being announced this term.

A-level RS survey

If you didn't get the chance to complete our survey last term, here's a final opportunity to have your say.

We want to hear from you if you teach A-level Religious Studies, with any exam board, as teacher views are so important for our future planning.

Take the survey

The use of AI within assessments

JCQ’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use in Assessments: Protecting the Integrity of Qualifications document provides teachers/assessors involved in delivering JCQ qualifications with the information they need to manage use of AI in assessments. All relevant staff need to be aware of and familiarise themselves with the new guidance and instructions. If AI misuse is detected or suspected by your school or college, and the declaration of authentication has been signed, the case must be reported.

Remember, if you have any learners who use a word processor, it must have all internet connectivity disabled. This is to help prevent, among other things, the potential misuse of AI in exams.

Using AQA resources for AI tools

AQA does not allow anybody (including schools and colleges) to use any AQA materials to train Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered tools or technologies. This includes question papers, specifications, mark schemes, reports, teaching resources and other such materials. While we understand how useful these tools are, putting any AQA material into an AI tool would be in breach of copyright law, and AQA policy.

Student Advisory Group – recruitment for 2025/26

We’re looking for learners to join our Student Advisory Group to help us make key decisions about the future of exams. We’d love to hear from learners who’ve completed AQA specification GCSEs since 2024, as well as from those taking AQA AS and A-levels. We also really want to hear from students taking our vocational qualifications, or vocational qualifications with any other exam board, as long as they have sat at least one AQA qualification.

Since the Student Advisory group began they’ve; represented the student voice each year at the Parliamentary Youth Reception, shared their views at the Curriculum and Assessment Youth Shadow Panel, fed into our Curriculum and Assessment call for evidence response, given insights on AI in the Classroom at the 2025 Festival of Education, helped with reviewing books for our English literature set texts list, and much more.

So if you know any learners who you think would be interested, please pass this on. Full details of the role and how to apply can be found on our website. Applications open on Monday 8 September and close at 5.00pm on Monday 22 September 2025.

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Contact our team

Help is never more than a click away. If you have a question, we’ve got the answer.

Email religiousstudies@aqa.org.uk

Call us on 0161 957 3881 8.00am – 5.00pm, Monday to Friday.