The civilisations of ancient Greece and Rome underpin all of Western society, and their long influence is still felt from Afghanistan to the United States of America; whether in politics, philosophy, art or the sciences an acquaintance with the classical world will not only enrich a pupil’s experience, but also offer him fresh perspectives and ideas, drawn from the well-spring of European civilisation. Classical Subjects at Dulwich Dulwich College is lucky to be able to offer a full suite of courses at A level, which allows all of our pupils the opportunity to engage with the classical world. Latin and Classical Greek offer their traditional virtues, having been central to the British education system since the foundation of Oxford University, and the first public schools which followed it, while Classical Civilisation opens up our subjects to pupils who do not read Latin or Greek by viewing the cultures through sources in translation and their physical remains. While the texts may be ancient, the approach is not, as we bring modern academic techniques from literary criticism, history and archaeology to bear in all three disciplines, providing courses which are engaging, exciting and academically satisfying. Candidates for our subjects combine intellectual curiosity and independence, and we encourage them to pursue their interests throughout the broad range of disciplines that universities recognise as integral to degrees in Classics. These subjects are ideal in combination with other humanities such as History, English and Philosophy, as they complement the core skills of these subjects, and often open up new areas of critical engagement. Latin and Greek are also particularly appropriate in parallel with other languages, as the focus on ancient literature and history offers a less pragmatic view of the value of language acquisition. Finally, we have often had many candidates choose classical languages as a counterpoint to the natural sciences; it is no secret that many successful figures in the world of IT, including Mark Zuckerberg, view the logical demands of the language as at the heart of their success. In the words of Professor Llewelyn Morgan, “Latin is the Maths of the Humanities. But Latin also has something that Mathematics does not and that is the history and mythology of the ancient world. Latin is Maths with goddesses, gladiators and flying horses, or flying children.”