GCSE Islamic Studies

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why Sister Ruqaiyyah is offering this course.
• A 'Do-it-Yourself' Package
• What happens if I already do RE at school?
• What is the 'Do-it-Yourself' Package?
• Does the GCSE course have to be the EdExcel one?
• Does the Course study have to be from Sister Ruqaiyyah's books?
• What do I do if I am not confident enough to go through it alone?
• What about the Exam Entry Fees?
• Some advice from Sister Ruqaiyyah
• Do you need to speak Arabic, or know the Qur'an or Hadiths by heart?
• What sort of questions do they ask?
• What are the Pass Grades?
• Where do I go for Further Information?

Why I am offering this course.

I am a retired Head of Religious Knowledge with over 30 years experience of teaching and writing for GCSE, and my particular field is the subject of Islam. I taught it to GCSE level in inner city secondary schools, and since leaving the chalkface have managed to increase my total of published works to around thirty. My textbooks on Islam produced by Heinemann Educational Press and others have done very well, and are in current use in many schools, not only in the UK but also in other countries and other languages. I have been approached by many people who have a great desire to sit for the GCSE in Islam, but at present most of the Boards only offer Islam as half a GCSE, the other half being some other world religion or some other aspect of religion. Now, however, the London University Board, under the title of EdExcel (the old ULEAC) offers syllabus 1478 or 1479, both of which give candidates the chance to do a full GCSE in Religious Studies in Islam without reference to other faiths.

A 'Do-it-Yourself' Package.

The majority of places of education have neither the time available on the time-table nor the staff trained and qualified to be able to offer such an option. Therefore I have created a 'do-it-yourself' package, that enables any keen student of average ability, or 'high-flier' wishing to add to his/her number of GCSEs, to study on their own at their own speed and their own convenience. This is of enormous appeal to Muslim students at secondary schools, who may get permission to follow this course during their statutory RE lessons - most schools are very keen to support eager students who are going to improve their statistics in the performance tables of GCSE passes. It could also be used at the mosque schools (where many young Muslims already perhaps study for around two hours every night after their day school, and where they would LOVE to have a 'real' qualification to aim for in their final year), and to other students of Islam in all sorts of walks of life - such as married women, new converts, prisoners, etc.

Suppose you already do RE at school?

There are two sorts of RE lessons - the compulsory ones (usually one lesson per week, or it may be called Personal and Religious Studies, or some such title), for which there is no exam at the end of the course; and the chosen Option lessons when one is studying for GCSE. Many students regard the compulsory lesson as just a time-filler, or even a waste of time, but they cant get out of it. If this is your only RE lesson, it might well be worth asking your teacher if you could follow this Islam course during that lesson time, and enter for an extra GCSE. Most teachers will let you get on quietly in a separate corner, or let you go to the library, etc.

If you have chosen to do RE as an Option subject for GCSE, you are usually dependent on the syllabus chosen by the teacher, according to the teacher's knowledge and expertise. The teacher will not coach you in Islam if he/she knows nothing about it. It all depends on the individual teacher. Most schools offer Christianity and one other world faith, or another Christian subject. However, here you have two possible courses of action - you could (a) ask if you could follow the Islam course on your own in the set lesson time; or (b) ask if you could do it as well as the course the school is offering. That would certainly be my own choice, as you would gain a much wider knowledge of world faiths in this way. If you did a Christian, Jewish and an Islamic option, you would be extremely valuable in the inter-faith discussions that will arise this century! If you chose to do this, you would be doing Islam as 'extra' work, in your own time.

If you do wish to do both the school RE course and also do the one in Islam, as they are both RE qualifications, the exams could not both be attempted in the same academic year. The usual way round this is to do the Islam exam in Year 10, and the other RE in Year 11.

What is the 'Do-it-Yourself' Package?

The 'package' consists of my two textbooks - 'Teaching World Religions: Islam' - Heinemann; and 'Islam: a Dictionary' - Stanley Thornes (both available on order from any bookshop); plus a work-book based on these two texts giving detailed guidance, instructions on how to apply for entry etc, details of the syllabus, past exams, and so forth. This last book is the 'Teacher' telling you how to do everything. It explains it all in detail, the job your classroom teacher would normally do for you. The course-book will be in print by September, insha'Allah. For my trial years I have used xeroxed worksheets in a folder, and these may still be ordered from me. The three books together should cost around £20.

Does the GCSE course have to be the EdExcel one?

No. The study of Islam is not limited to Edexcel's examination; it is just as suitable for the exams of the other boards, for example the half-GCSE for NEAB, or any other Board. What Edexcel offers that the others do not is the chance to do the full GCSE in Islam alone, and secondly, the chance to do a GCSE with 100% of the marks gained in the exam on the day without the hassle of submitting coursework in advance. There are advantages and disadvantages in submitting coursework in advance. You get a certain amount of the work out of the way, which counts for around 20% of the marks. The disadvantages are that you might well be more mature and know more at the time of the exam as opposed to the earlier time when you did the course-work, and some candidates cannot make arrangements to have their work officially assessed. If students do wish to submit coursework in advance, they must work through an established centre for the marking, and make sure they register for syllabus 1479, as opposed to 1478 which is exam only. The exam is half an hour shorter for those who have done course-work in advance.

Does the Course study have to be from Sister Ruqaiyyah's books?

Not at all. There are many books from which one could study Islam - such as Ghulam Sarwar's, Jan Thompson's, Mawdudi's, etc etc. Any student could enter for the EdExcel exam with good knowledge of Islam, without ever reading Sister Ruqaiyyah's work. However, her work does provide specific texts that fit the specific syllabus, based on her experience of teaching GCSE Islam, and they come with the Do-it-Yourself guidebook. The guidebook alone is a mine of useful information, but the 76 course worksheets that cover the entire syllabus refer to specific pages in the Heinemann book 'Islam', and the Stanley Thornes 'Dictionary: Islam, so these are meaningless without her text books. So far, nearly all the students that have followed her course have gained A or A* grades.

Specific Postal Tuition.

If any student does not feel confident to go it completely alone, but wishes to have actual postal tuition, with detailed marking and spoken advice over the phone, and all the other advantages of having a tutor, the course is available through the Association of Muslim Researchers (AMR) - tel:0181 699 1887. This form of tuition is available with payment of a fee, details of which can be obtained from AMR. The fee pays for the hire of the tutor (which is Sister Ruqaiyyah for the next academic year) and incidental expenses. The student also needs to buy the books needed for the course, and will have to pay exam entry fees at an exam centre in due course.

Exam Entry Fees.

If the student is still at school, and can be entered for the exam at his/her own school, the school usually pays the entry fees. If the student has left school, (for example, a housewife wishing to enter), the candidate has to apply for permission to sit the exam at a local school or College of Further Education as an external entrant. If the school or college is willing, the external candidate is then notified of the date of the exam, goes to that centre, and will either sit the exam with other candidates who attend that centre, or they may find they are on their own. The fee is usually around £16 in a school centre, or around £47 at a college centre., which pays for the cost of the papers and the invigilation.

It's nicer with a friend.

Working all on your own can sometimes be tough going. Why not try to find someone else to do the work with you? Many little groups of students are now setting up all over the place. Is there a Muslim friend in your class at school? Would your Auntie like to have a go? What about the 15 year olds at the madrassah? If they have been attending Islamiat since childhood, they could probably enter for this GCSE without any extra work, and achieve success - so long as they can express themselves in English.

Do you need to speak Arabic, or know the Qur'an or hadiths by heart?

No. Most of the candidates who do GCSE in Islam are not even Muslims, but that small group of non-Muslims who are simply interested in the subject. They have to start all their learning from scratch. The only Arabic you would need are the basic technical terms - words like halal, hajj, ramadan, tawhid, risalah, eid. If you can quote from the Qur'an or hadiths, that is a bonus. What the GCSE examiner does NOT want is the student who just repeats 'the right answer' parrot-fashion.

What sort of questions do they ask?

Questions are of three different sorts, that test three different skills - knowledge, understanding and evaluation. Answers to factual questions usually carry fewer marks than those which explain things, or evaluate the values in a particular issue.

A favourite form of question is to discuss at least two different points of view about a particular issue - such as use of wealth, marriage, abortion, forgiveness etc. You don't score points for the 'right' answer, but for expressing some logical thoughts - with which you don't have to agree necessarily. For example, you could be asked - 'What is an Imam?' (2 points). Or - 'Explain the roles and functions of a typical Imam.' (4 or 6 points - i.e. for 6 points you would need to say six things, such as he is a respected member of the community, he leads the prayers, he runs the madrassah, he organises social functions, he organises public lectures, he visits the sick, he helps with family problems, he teaches Arabic, he helps with visa and immigration problems, he reconciles disputes, he leads the funeral prayers, etc etc. See? There's a lot! Finally, for evaluation, you might get something like this - 'Does the modern Imam play a more valuable role in Muslim society than simply preserving the culture of the majority of Muslims in any community?' (8 points).

Or - 'Should all the Imams in UK mosques be fluent in English as well as other languages? Give reasons for your answer.'

Or - 'If you were on the Mosque Council, responsible for interviewing a new Imam, what sort of skills and qualities would you be looking for?' This is where the Grade A student is so easily distinguished from the basic D-E passes!

Pass Grades.

The exam is marked out of 100. The pass grades actually start at around 25%. In other words, you could put down your factual answers and just have a go at something in simple words, and unless you were a complete ignoramus, you would pass.

The basic grades start at F or G. They are not just worthless bits of paper - they prove that you have at least followed a course of study and have achieved a basic level of knowledge and understanding - which is a million miles higher than the student who achieves nothing. The national average grades are usually around D and E.

The most worthwhile grades are at level C and above. To achieve a C, you need to score around 50%. These are the passes that are included on the school statistics records, to indicate the academic success of a school. They are very valuable to a school, and also to you.

The highest grades are A, the level of distinction, and to get that grade you must score around 75%. The most outstanding papers are awarded A*. As and Bs are the ones that are the most use for University entrance qualifications, although many Universities also take Cs into account.

Further Information.

For any further information, please contact Sister Ruqaiyyah, who will be glad to help you, or point you in the right direction. God bless you, wasalaam, Ruqaiyyah.