The Victoria and Albert Museum is the world's greatest museum of art and design. Home to 3,000 years' worth of amazing artefacts from many of the world's richest cultures, for 150 years our unsurpassable collections have intrigued, inspired and informed.
The rich and varied collections at the V&A offer a multitude of opportunities to enhance the teaching and learning of RE and include some of the finest examples of artefacts from Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Jain in the world. Be inspired by the breathtaking Minbar in the Jameel Gallery of Islamic art, a Buddhist Shrine in the Buddhist Sculpture gallery or the Christian Gloucester Candlestick in the newly opened Medieval Renaissance Galleries.
As part of our Secondary Schools programme we offer gallery tours to immerse students in particular Sacred Objects in the collections. For more information or to book one of these tours call 020 7942 2211.
Not only can a visit to the museum enrich the teaching and learning of RE, the V&A also offers a wealth of online resources to support students and teachers. These can be used to plan visits or to extend work in the classroom. Topics include Buddhism, Jain, Islam and Christianity, and engage students in exciting cross-curricular learning. For a full list of RE resource visit our learning resource finder at www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/learning-resources/
V&A Schools Programme www.vam.ac.uk/schools


The British Library is the national library of the UK. It houses a collection of over 150 million items, including a copy of every book published each year in the UK. The collection is vast and includes literary manuscripts, sacred texts, maps, ephemera, sound recordings, photographs and printed books.
British Library Learning offer a range of programmes to engage both Primary and Secondary students and teachers with the collection, including workshops, conferences, online resources and events.
Our programme focuses on developing skills for learning, particularly research skills, critical thinking, visual, verbal and information literacy and creativity. Our diverse collection enable us to support a wide range of subject areas, such as English Literature, English Language, History, Religious Education, Citizenship and Art and Design.
Programmes that support and enrich the Religious Education curriculum include free onsite workshops suitable for Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 and A Level students and online resources. The Sir John Ritblat Gallery hosts a permanent display of our greatest treasures including sacred texts from many faiths. Codex Sinaiticus, Lindisfarne Gospels and Sultan Baybars' Qur'an are some of the gallery's highlights.

WORKSHOPS

Sacred Texts
Sacred Texts is a 90 minute workshop suitable for Key Stage 2, Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 and A Level students. The session takes place in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery and the new Harry M Weinrebe Learning Centre.
This session will help students find their own connections with the magnificent sacred texts on display, allowing students to engage with Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Jewish, Sikh and Zoroastrian texts.
The workshop will help students develop the skills needed for interpreting and decoding sacred texts. Students will investigate how and why faiths convey their message through sacred texts. They will examine the production and reception of sacred texts and their relationship to faith and meaning.
Workshops are free of charge and available throughout the year.
Find out more:
 http://www.bl.uk/learning/tarea/primary/sacredtexts/sacred.html
To book: http://www.bl.uk/learning/tarea/secondaryfehe/sacredtexts/sacred.html

ONLINE RESOURCES

What is sacred?  How do we extract meaning from sacred texts? Where do religious stories come from? How are these stories relevant to people today? Our online resources, Sacred Stories and Understanding Sacred Texts, will allow you to investigate all these questions and more.

Sacred Stories
Open the books in this beautiful interactive to explore 12 stories from six different religions. All 12 stories have been animated using images from the British Library's collection. Users will be able to discover the origins of the tales and to investigate the crossovers and contrasts between them. http://www.bl.uk/learning/cult/sacred/stories/

Understanding Sacred Texts
This interactive investigates the Abrahamic scriptures by posing a range of questions to a panel of 'experts': faith leaders, educators, young people, theologians and an atheist philosopher. The activity reminds users that the meanings within the texts are complex, multifaceted and endlessly fascinating. http://www.bl.uk/learning/cult/sacred/understanding/