Latin

Assessment

There are four examinations, all taken at the end of the two-year course. Two are language papers and two are literature papers. The first language paper, worth 33% of the total A level, is 1 hour 30 minutes and is simply an unseen paper in which you are required to translate two original pieces of Latin literature, sometimes slightly adapted, into English, one prose, one poetry. The authors will be specified in advance (for examination in 2025 they will be Livy and Ovid). The second language paper, worth 17% of the total A level, will offer a choice: you can either do another shorter translation into English of a Latin passage of prose and then answer a number of comprehension and grammar questions on it, or translate a short passage of English into Latin. We start with an open mind, and see which is likely to be best for you; both options are equally valid and enjoyable. The two literature papers, each worth 25% of the full A level qualification, both follow the same pattern, one focusing on poetry and one on prose. You will need to know your set texts well, in order to answer translation and analysis questions on each; and then to write an essay about the text, informed by your wider reading of an additional specified portion of the text in English translation.