first to publish for the new Key Stage 3 Religious Education Directory (RED) with its CES-endorsed Source to Summit year 7 Student Book

On Thursday 8 May 2023 Oxford University Press published Source to Summit, a new course supporting the Key Stage 3 Religious Education Directory for Catholic schools.

The first textbook in the series, for Year 7, is endorsed by the Catholic Education Service (CES) for the new Religious Education Directory (RED) and is available to order now, so teachers can prepare for first teaching in September 2023. The Year 7 Student Book has also been granted an Imprimatur.

Written by a team of experienced teachers and led by Series Editor, Andy Lewis, Source to Summit mirrors the structure of the new curriculum, with a narrative telling the central story of Catholicism, from Creation to the Church of today.

The Press has worked closely with the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development charity (CAFOD) to provide up-to-date case studies that bring the Catholic faith to life for students of all faiths and backgrounds in an inclusive way.

Furthermore, the course is presented in a visual, student-friendly way and includes Student Books and also digital books and supporting resources accessed via Oxford’s market-leading digital platform, Kerboodle.

One Head of RE in the Nottingham Diocese, says: “Wow! I have never seen this amount of hard work, commitment and dedication for Catholic Education offered by any publisher before and probably never will. The creators of Oxford’s Source to Summit are the best version of 'Imago Dei' and have saved me hours and hours of work – I cannot thank them enough.”

Emma Westbury, Head of RE in a large Catholic school in London, says: “I think that the content is rich and accessible and really pitches RE as an academic subject and shows rigour as well as the living faith. This is a resource that fills what many of us have been yearning for. I could literally set last minute cover using this textbook as well as using it in class. The information is accessible and whilst it is a leap up, potentially, for some departments and teachers, I think the phrasing and unpacking of deep concepts is done skilfully.”

David Wells, Author and Lecturer, says: “This resource doesn’t suffer from superficiality on the one hand or become overwhelmed by detail on the other. Holding that balance is hard to achieve and easy to lose. What I also enjoy is the way in which Source to Summit manages to address many questions students are genuinely asking. The language here is accessible, the tone clear and the layout tidy.” Andy Lewis, Series Editor, says: “We are immensely proud of Source to Summit and are extremely excited to announce publication of the first book in the series. We feel we have created something that is authentic to the Catholic faith, providing catechesis to those who seek it, while also being academic and rigorous as well as lively and engaging.”

Minh Ha Duong, RE Publisher at Oxford University Press, says: “We are delighted to publish Source to Summit ahead of first teaching in 2023 and are thrilled that our Year 7 Student Book is endorsed by the Catholic Education Service for the new Religious Education Directory. We were determined to produce the very best resources to support the new Key Stage 3 RED and it’s promising that early feedback reflects our commitment to create authentic and engaging Catholic Education resources for teachers and young people. We will be seeking endorsement from the CES for our Year 8 and Year 9 Student Books in due course.”

The Source to Summit Year 7 Student Book is available to order online or through a member of Oxford’s friendly customer service team. The Source to Summit Year 7 Kerboodle is also available to evaluate for free. For further information, please visit: www.oxfordsecondary.com/sourcetosummit

If you would like more information about this series, contact: secondary.enquiries@oup.com

On Wednesday 31st May, over 500 people packed into Farm Street Church to listen to Antonia Salzano speak for nearly an hour about her son, Blessed Carlo Acutis, and his legacy.

Antonia had travelled from Italy that day, and would be spending the next few days speaking at various events in the diocese. The evening was a special opportunity hosted by Westminster Youth Ministry for the young people in the diocese.

Antonia began by describing Carlo, saying he ‘was a normal person, but he opened the door of his heart to God, and his ordinary life became extraordinary.’

‘Carlo always wanted to improve … he used to pray a little piece of prayer and read the Bible each day. If you read the Bible each day, you will learn to reason like Jesus.’

Antonia went on to explain that she saw this at work when her father died, as Carlo said to her, ‘Mama, I saw Nonno, who told me he is in purgatory, we must pray to help him to go out of purgatory.’

Carlo’s depth of faith, allowed Antonia to ‘discover my life.’

‘I thought before, that the sacraments were only symbols, I was like a Protestant. I, through Carlo, understood that the sacraments are the most supernatural things we have.’

‘Carlo made me understand and for me it was the most important discovery of my life.’

Asked about the ways in which Antonia felt able to cope with the death of her son, which only happened over a period of five days from his hospitalisation, she said, ‘I started my faith path in 1994, so when Carlo died Jesus had already prepared me.

‘When Carlo was in hospital, I heard inside me, I had a strong impression, like the book of Job: God has given, God has taken away, all shall bless the name of God.’

Antonia encouraged those present, that Carlo's example was not something exclusive to him, saying that 'sainthood is not something to be ashamed of! Sainthood is part of our very constitution.'

After she spoke, Bishop Nicholas Hudson led all the people present in Adoration and Benediction. This was followed by an opportunity for the many people present to venerate a relic of Blessed Carlo and to ask his intercession.