PRE
The Philosophy, Religion and Ethics (PRE) is a core subject and a distinctive offering at Avanti Fields. Its curriculum intent is to examine the most basic questions concerning human existence sambandha (the relationship between the living entity and the Supreme Entity), abhidheya (the means for attaining the object of pursuit) and prayojana (the very object of pursuit) namely Man, the world, and God. The PRE curriculum’s main focus is developing an appreciation and deepening one’s faith in the Chaitanya Hindu tradition, and it rests upon the beliefs, teachings and practices lived and taught by Sri Chaitanya. This includes the key philosophical concepts of the Bhagavad-gita: the self, work and purpose, the nature of this world, the impact of time and connection with the Divine. These are supported with chanting the holy name, deity worship, studying scripture, association and friendship, and residing at a holy place.
The curriculum also enables students to learn from and about different faiths, philosophic theories and approaches to asking and answering the ‘big’ questions in life. We challenge students to be critical about their decision making, address ethics and develop the skill of looking through the lens of the school’s core principles and values to address difficult scenarios.
We emphasise to students: ‘don’t accept, don’t reject – think about these concepts and build your own conclusion.’ This cultivates their independent thoughtfulness, building both their written and verbal communication to evaluate, assess and discuss challenging concepts. These skills of PRE are transferable across all subjects and in life.
Our aspiration is for students to have an ambitious engagement with PRE with hope that they mature into applying into their lives wisdom, both ancient and contemporary.
‘Everything we do at Avanti aims to inspire spiritually compassionate changemakers. Our distinctive philosophy, religion and ethics curriculum intends to achieve this aim: through cultivating curiosity to explore life’s big questions with open hearts and minds, through religious learning to foster humanity, love, and a sense of interconnectedness with all living beings and divinity, and through ethics to shape conscious changemakers who embody virtues and think critically. In so doing, we equip our children and young people with the tools to lead meaningful, joyful lives, and make a positive contribution to the world.
While parents and carers to have the right to withdraw their child from all or part of PRE (by contacting the school office), we believe that participation can greatly enrich children and young people’s understanding of the world and those around them.’
Please click on the link below to find out more about our PRE Curriculum