As students across the country received their A-level results this week, new figures reveal a drop of 5.1 percent in 2019 and 22.8 percent in 2018, a combined decline of 28.9 percent in two years of students choosing to study RE at A-level.

Reports claim that a number of schools are failing to meet legal requirements on religious education to pupils until the age of 16, which is impacting students choosing the subject to study at a higher level.

The figures are an indication that religious education remains vulnerable and teachers are calling the Government to engage further with the recent recommendations for change from the Commission on Religious Education.

It is a legal requirement for children up until 16 to be taught RE. Former RE teacher and education officer for the Diocese of Exeter, Ed Pawson told Premier how some schools are getting away with not teaching the subject: “Data shows a third of schools are not teaching RE properly, it’s a key stage for that GCSE level.

Pawson thinks it’s “partly about academisation of schools”, but says “we are hopeful that a new Ofsted framework in September will start to show the schools up more, we really want to put more pressure on Ofsted to take more notice when they inspect schools as to whether schools are teaching good RE or not and whether all people are getting their entitlements, to religious…