Over 180 senior school pupils from across North-east Scotland and Fife will attend the second Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies Conference at the University of Aberdeen School of Education this week (Thursday September 18).
Religious, Moral and Philosophical Studies (RMPS) is an increasingly popular subject at school with over 1500 entries at Higher Level last year. This day-long conference features a series of mini lectures delivered by staff from the University's School of Divinity and Religious Studies and workshops run by class teachers. All activities will focus on specific subject areas of the course and be directly relevant to ongoing classroom teaching. A particularly interesting aspect of the day will be an Open Forum chaired by two pupils who will introduce a number of external speakers discussing Christian, Hindu, Muslim and Buddhist faiths.
The Conference has been organised by the University's School of Education in collaboration with the Department of Divinity and Religious Studies. David McMurtry, Lecturer in Religious and Moral Education at the School of Education said: "The aim of this innovative conference is to facilitate learning in the context of the pupil's studies in the classroom. Participants will be following a full and varied programme of activities including lectures, discussion, essay writing skills development sessions and interactive workshops. What we know from research about how we learn best has been included in the design - for example, activities are optimum length for young people new to learning in Higher Education and are at an appropriate level. There will be much opportunity for dialogue."
Claire Thomson, S5 pupil from Aboyne Academy is looking forward to attending tomorrow's Conference: "I'm thrilled to get the opportunity to experience University style learning. It will be really interesting to meet representatives form different faiths."