AVONBOURNE College has become the first school in the south to be awarded a bronze in the Religious Education Quality Mark (REQM) scheme.

The school’s Religious Studies so impressed the REQM’s judges that it has now been invited to bypass silver and apply for gold next year.

REQM is a national awards’ scheme that recognises outstanding Religious Studies in schools.

Executive head teacher of Avonbourne College, Debbie Godfrey-Phaure, said: “I am incredibly proud of our Religious Studies team, led by Naomi Gill, for winning this award. Naomi and her team are so enthusiastic about teaching Religious Studies and that inspires the students to learn and makes them so enthusiastic for the subject.”

To achieve a REQM award, Avonbourne College had to undergo a rigorous assessment and a visit from an assessor.

An important part of the assessor’s visit was the input from the students themselves who were asked to give honest opinions about their experiences of Religious Studies at school.

Year 9 student, Mimi Granell, said: “I love our Religious Studies lessons because they are not only informative but also fun as well. We really get challenged to think about ethics and morals and I’ve gained so much more knowledge of religions around the world.”