Learn from others: Browse anonymised top 3 and middle 3 mock exam results. No candidate numbers shown.
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| Question | Topic / Title | Max Marks | Class Avg | Performance % | RAG Rating |
|---|
Click on column headers to sort the table.
| Question | Topic / Title | Max Marks | Class Avg | Performance % | RAG Rating |
|---|
Overall: The cohort of 27 students achieved a class average of 40.8/80 (51%) with a pass rate (Grade 4+) of 67% (18 of 27 students). The strongest performance was in the multiple choice and short-answer sections, with Q7b (Institute for Government view, 89%), Q7a (Blair view, 93%) and Q1b (discrimination, 100%) all scoring very well. The weakest area by far was Q7c (Source Agreement, 13%), suggesting students struggled to identify points of agreement between the two sources. The higher-tariff extended writing questions (Q7d and Q8) also showed significant room for improvement.
"Which view do you agree with more?" (12 Marks)
Hover over the highlighted text to see the examiner's commentary.
"The ages of responsibility should be increased." (15 Marks)
The UK’s religious make-up is changing. Census figures for England and Wales show that the proportion of people identifying as Christian fell from about 71% in 2001 to about 59% in 2011 – a noticeable change in just ten years. Over the same period, the proportion identifying as Muslim rose from about 3% to about 5%. Many other faiths, including Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism and Buddhism, are also practised, and minority religious groups tend to be concentrated in large cities such as London and Manchester.
In a society where people of many faiths, and of none, live side by side, tolerance – being open-minded and accepting that other people hold beliefs different from your own – is essential. Everyone needs to feel safe to practise their beliefs without fear of harassment or violence. Sadly, intolerance still exists. In one case reported in Bradford, a man who converted from Islam to Christianity faced harassment and threats of violence, including a threat to burn down his home. He was also rejected by some of his own family and friends.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to choose their religion, to change it, or to have no religion at all. This right is also protected in UK law, even though the number of practising Christians has been falling for many years.
Blue: points quoted from the source. Green: own knowledge that is not in the source. A full-mark answer has three of each.
The source shows the UK is becoming more religiously diverse: the proportion of Christians fell sharply, “a noticeable change in just ten years”EXAMINER: Source point 1: quoted in inverted commas and used to answer the question., while other faiths grew. Using my own knowledge, this trend has continued, as the 2021 census showed that fewer than half of people in England and Wales (about 46%) identified as Christian, and about 37% said they had no religionEXAMINER: Own knowledge 1: accurate, relevant, not in the source, and linked back to the question.. When so many beliefs live side by side, tolerance matters because “Everyone needs to feel safe to practise their beliefs without fear”EXAMINER: Source point 2: quoted in inverted commas and used to answer the question..
The Bradford case shows that intolerance can lead to harassment and threats. That is why the right “to choose their religion, to change it, or to have no religion at all”EXAMINER: Source point 3: quoted in inverted commas and used to answer the question. is protected in law. The Human Rights Act 1998 includes Article 9, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religionEXAMINER: Own knowledge 2: accurate, relevant, not in the source, and linked back to the question.. In addition, the Equality Act 2010 makes ‘religion or belief’ a protected characteristic, so it is illegal to discriminate against someone at work or in services because of their faithEXAMINER: Own knowledge 3: accurate, relevant, not in the source, and linked back to the question.. These laws turn tolerance into real protection.
Instead of writing: Religion is important and people should be nice to each other.EXAMINER: A general opinion with no evidence from the source and no own knowledge such as a law.
| Level | Marks | Descriptor |
|---|---|---|
| Level 3 | 5–6 | Uses the source well (changing census figures, diversity in cities, the Bradford example, the UDHR) to explain why tolerance and religious freedom matter. Applies at least two well-developed pieces of own knowledge, e.g. the 2021 census (about 46% Christian, 37% no religion); Article 9 of the Human Rights Act 1998; religion or belief as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010; religious hate crime laws; mutual respect and tolerance as a fundamental British value. |
| Level 2 | 3–4 | Clear answer explaining that the UK is becoming more diverse and that intolerance causes harm (using the source). Applies at least one piece of own knowledge, such as naming the Human Rights Act or the Equality Act. |
| Level 1 | 1–2 | Simple answer that picks out one point from the source (e.g. ‘fewer people are Christian’ or ‘everyone can choose their religion’). Relies almost entirely on the source. |
| Level 0 | 0 | No rewardable material. |
Features of a good answer:
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