‘Not only did we learn about Italian religion, but also Italian culture and history whilst staying at the heart of the city.’ Tom Crossley, Year 9
The Cathedral tower provides a fantastic opportunity to spot various places of worship across the London skyline. The boys learn about how architecture reflects religious belief, the Stations of the Cross and St Peter. In February this year, we took a selection of Year 11 boys to the 2014 Religious Studies academy conference to hear a selection of talks from Julie Arkiss, Dr Mark Lewney, Professor Tom Greggs, and Jeffrey Hodges. Dr Lewney dazzled the audience, who were gathered in this grand Baptist church space, with his rendition of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody in order to explain String Theory. He asked the question: ‘Are we made of Maths?’ which allowed boys to consider the roles of not only mathematics but also physics in contemporary philosophy.
Pupils in Year 13 have the opportunity each year to join a one–day conference run by Dr Peter Vardy, long-time Vice Principal of Heythrop College of the University of London. A group of Dulwich boys spent a day at Bloomsbury Baptist church listening to and discussing key ethical topics such as warfare, religious language, the use of drones and natural law. Students were given university style lectures and were invited to discuss the issues in open mic sessions. ‘What I liked about the temple is that it is a stunning building in the middle of a busy part of London, where you wouldn’t expect such a building to be.’ Harry Bassi, Year 7 In June, Year 8 travel through London to visit three different places of worship, with the focus of the day being interfaith dialogue. The West London Synagogue, W1 is the first stop on our itinerary. This particular reform synagogue is home to in excess of 3,000 worshippers, and was built in the same decade as Dulwich College’s Barry buildings. The boys learn Hebrew from a Torah Scroll, which had been smuggled out of Nazi Germany in 1938 after Kristallnacht. The second stop is at the Regents Park Mosque, and Islamic Culture Centre. Our guide is a ةروفان (fountain) of knowledge; she makes us feel welcome in this vast mosque, which was a gift from George VI to the Muslims of London, and the boys are able to focus on the rights of women in Islam and Islamic prayer in particular. The final visit is to Westminster Cathedral.
On the trip to the Regents Park mosque, boys focused on the rights of women in Islam and Islamic prayer.
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