Welcome to the Classics Department

In the Classics Department, we aim to instil in our students a full understanding of Greek and Roman culture, and to develop inquiring minds and a thirst for knowledge. Both Latin and Classical Civilisation are optional for GCSE and the exam board used is OCR.

Curriculum
Years 7 - 9
In Years 7-9, all pupils study both Latin and Classical Civilisation. For Latin, we follow the Cambridge Latin Course. In Classical Civilisation, we study various aspects of Greek and Roman civilisation and literature.
Latin GCSE
There are four papers for the Latin GCSE, which are each worth 25% of the total exam. There are two Unseen Translation papers, and there is also a Sources for Latin paper, which looks at the cultural background of the Romans. In addition, there is a Verse paper, in which we study a set text from one particular author. There are no controlled assessments.
Classical Civilisation GCSE
There are four papers for the Classical Civilisation GCSE, which are each worth 25% of the total exam. There are two civilisation papers, in which we study Pompeii and Athens, and one literature paper, in which we study The Odyssey. There is also a controlled assessment paper.
Regular Trips
In Year 10, there is a trip to Italy to visit Pompeii and Herculaneum, to support the Latin and Classical Civilisation GCSE students.
We aim to attend performances of Greek plays where possible to support pupils’ learning.