Latin
Latin, for two thousand years the language of many of the greatest thinkers and writers of the western world, remains a living and intellectually stimulating language which is the key to understanding many central aspects of western thought and culture.
Further details of the curriculum can be found in the documents downloadable from the bottom of this page.
Years 7 and 8
Latin is studied from Year 7 aiming for a more well-rounded and immersive experience of the classical world. In Years 7 and 8, we follow the Cambridge Latin Course which introduces the language through passages about different aspects of life in the Roman Empire.
There are interactive DVDs to support Books I and II and the Cambridge Latin Course website provides a wealth of additional activities and resources. We visit the Roman Baths and the Museum of London in Year 7.
The Classics department also offers an annual trip to Pompeii and Herculaneum and bi-annual trip to Greece. The ethos behind all these extra-curricular activities is to advance our students' understanding and enjoyment of the classical world.
Year 9
In Year 9, in addition to continuing language studies, we give pupils an introduction to some original sources, particularly the story of Ovid in the chariot races, including a few lines of the other original Latin poems, in order to give them a taster of GCSE set text study.
By the end of Year 9 pupils will have acquired a sound basis for further study to GCSE and will also have tasted some of the richness of Roman civilisation. Pupils who choose not to study GCSE have the option of taking the WJEC Level 1 / 2 certificates at the end of Year 10.
Latin GCSE (Eduqas C990PB)
Students continue to practice comprehension and translation skills, extending their understanding to include more complex grammatical structures such as relative clauses, participles and the subjunctive.
Students will begin to study their literature prescription in the summer term of Year 10, which currently focuses on Ovid's A Day at the Races. In Year 11, students continue to study language via Book IV of the Cambridge Latin Course alongside their literature prescription. In the spring term, students study the last part of their GCSE, which is a civilisation unit focusing on Roman entertainment.
