Hear from Ana Henderson
The Loughborough Grammar boys very quickly realise that, despite the technology advancements, in world of thought and big ideas, we have not yet moved far from the grand questions discussed among Greeks and Romans. This allows them to develop a disposition to think critically and deeply about the concepts of democracy, diversity, gender, politics, art, literature, and history, in an ‘educational package’ for the 21st century.
The Classics Department regularly runs a wide variety of trips, including regular visits to museums and exhibitions, exploring Roman towns in Britain and outings to theatres to see Greek drama being performed. We also run residential trips to Greece, Rome and/or Pompeii and another destination (Sicily, Croatia, Hadrian’s Wall) on an annual basis. We run an outreach trip to Cyprus where boys teach children of British Forces the three classical subjects. The department also organises Linguistics Olympiad, as our students’ ability in languages is emphasised by the focus on sequences, patterns and notion of code breaking. We also organise Classics Lectures every term delivered by world-renown scholars and in-house Junior lectures presented by our own students on the ancient Mediterranean world.
The boys very quickly realise that, despite the technology advancements, in world of thought and big ideas, we have not yet moved far from the grand questions discussed among Greeks and Romans. This allows students develop a disposition to think critically about the concepts of democracy, diversity, gender, politics, art and history, as well as developing their academic vocabulary necessary for success in any subject. Latin and Greek are in an ‘educational package’ for the 21st century. Our students can say that their experience in our department is very much removed from what their parents experienced from their own Classics teachers last century.
The Classics Department regularly runs a wide variety of trips, including regular visits to museums and exhibitions, exploring Roman towns in Britain and outings to theatres to see Greek drama being performed. We also run residential trips to Greece, Rome and Pompeii and another destination (Sicily, Croatia, Hadrian’s Wall) on an annual basis. We run an outreach trip to Cyprus where boys teach children of MOD staff the three classical subjects. The department also organises Linguistics Olympiad, as our students’ ability in languages is emphasised by the focus on sequences, patterns and notion of code breaking.
Latin
All boys study Latin in year 7 and 8 and we follow the Cambridge Latin Course Books 1-3 during first three years in the school. This takes the students from knowing no Latin at all to being able to confidently translate passages involving a wide range of vocabulary and grammar. During these years we also explore aspects of the Roman world, looking at gladiators, the baths and the military, and the towns of Pompeii, Deva (Chester) and Aquae Sulis (Bath) as well as the city of Alexandria, amongst other things. At GCSE, we follow the Eduqas specification, which consists of both language and culture and literature. There is one unseen language paper and two set text papers. The course allows pupils to read original Latin, exploring how different authors create persuasive writing and literary moods. At A level, we follow the OCR specification, which allows pupils to further develop their language skills and read longer and more sustained passages in the original Latin. A wide variety of authors is studied, including Cicero, Tacitus, Virgil and Ovid, to name just a few!
Greek
It is a great privilege of our students to be offered Classical Greek from year 9. They start the GCSE syllabus from the outset and only students that choose it year 9 are able to continue it into year 10. We learn the alphabet, but we also read the stories about Alexander the Great in year 9.
We offer Greek GCSE to students and invariable achieve top grades. Students pursue the OCR syllabus and have the opportunity to study the language and a set text from Greek authors such as Homer, Euripides or Herodotus and study a cultural topic, such as Athenian democracy and Olympic Games. Students who have the opportunity to do this generally flourish and the pursuit of this qualification enhances their profile for top University admission, too. We offer Greek at A Level as part of the Classics curriculum. We pursue the OCR syllabus which includes an opportunity to take the language to a higher level from GCSE and to read set texts, such as Homer’s Odyssey, Thucydides and Plato in the original language. Students gain an in-depth knowledge of the Greek world through their reading and their in-depth analysis of unseen translations, enriching their grasp of the accidence and syntax. Students find the challenge of Greek both enriching and stimulating and once again, the study of Ancient Greek enhances their profile for top University entry.
A Level Classics students are highly motivated, informed and enthusiastic about spending time in the department and can look forward to many fruitful careers with the skills they gain with us. Latin and Greek complement both sciences and humanities very well. Latin and Greek A Level can act as a facilitating subject for application to a variety of degrees in Russell Group universities, and keep options open for 16 year olds unsure of what degree they are likely to take.
Graduates of Classics degrees typically go on to careers in Law, Consulting, Marketing and Finance, and enjoy on average a higher starting salary than graduates of degrees in Law, Biology, Architecture and Pharmacy. In recent years, students have gone on to read Classics at Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrews, Durham, Birmingham and Nottingham.