For the first time, pupils will have the opportunity to study Humanism as part of a Religious Studies GCSE under OCR's draft proposals for a new Philosophy and Ethics course.

OCR's Religious Studies suite offers two courses, including a traditional faith-based approach with its World Religions GCSE, where students can study Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism.

The Philosophy and Ethics GCSE takes a modern issues-based approach and encourages students to examine the perspectives which different belief systems take to real-life concerns such as euthanasia and abortion.

The course includes units looking at different beliefs on topics such as the Nature of Good and Evil, Medical Ethics and Death and the Afterlife. Students are encouraged to engage with various religious beliefs, with the main focus for teaching on the six main world religions (Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism) and Humanism.

Humanism has been added to reflect the increasing number of people sharing humanist beliefs in the UK.