Latin

Course summary

Studying Latin at A Level is not just an enhancement of the literary and linguistic skills pupils have enjoyed building at GCSE level, but rather a jumping off point which gives far deeper access to the culture, society, ideas, and values of the ancient Roman world. Latin is a multifaceted subject offering pupils the chance to develop their computational thinking (through decoding grammatical and linguistic constructions), creativity and flair (through literary interpretation and translation) and written and verbal communication skills, all while gaining fluency in one of the foundational languages of Europe. Pupils read a wide range of passages written in both prose and verse, giving them a broad experience of canonical and lesser-known ancient works, as well as a plethora of different genres and authors, including the historian Livy, Ovid the love elegist, writer of epic Virgil, and orator and lawyer Cicero. Spanning right from the foundations of Rome, through the wars with Hannibal in Carthage, to the establishment of the empire and the often scandalous or ill-judged antics of the emperors, there is no shortage of excitement and curiosity in Latin lessons!