Classics
ETHOS:
That every boy should be challenged and stimulated at every moment and be instilled with a passion for classical languages and culture that will endure for a lifetime.
AIMS:
• To fire boys with a passion for classical scholarship.
• To present language-learning in a modern and multi-faceted way , while never stinting on the rigours of scholarship.
• To make learning accessible to all boys, whatever their age, ability or learning style and remove the narrow aura of elitism from the teaching of Latin and Greek.
• To place a seemingly outmoded set of subjects in context for the boys (eg Latin is the foundation of Romance languages/many of our models for philosophy, politics and law derive from Classical paradigms) while making them aware that its ‘otherness’ is precisely what makes Classics unique.
• To stretch the boys’ logical powers and challenge their intellect.
CURRICULUM:
LATIN
Y5 and 6:
Aim – to communicate passion for the ancient world; to ensure that the boys have a secure grasp of the rudiments of the language
• Allocation - Y5 and 6 have three thirty-five minute periods of Latin per week and one half-hour homework on a rotational basis.
• Primary resource – Latin Prep Book I
• Content Y5 – present/imperfect/perfect tenses of first conjugation verbs and sum; first declension nouns all cases; second declension nouns (all cases, masculine and neuter); second declension adjectives (all cases and genders); case structure and function; agreement of adjectives; prepositions
• Background (Y5) – The labours of Hercules (project); The mares of Diomedes; Greek and Roman gods and goddesses
• Content (Y6) - present/imperfect/perfect tenses of all other conjugations and compounds of sum; the imperative; principal parts; subordinate clauses; adverbs
• Background (Y6) – The Trojan War (Iliad) and The wanderings of Ulysses (Odyssey)
• Additional Material – puzzles, exercises and games prepared by teachers within the department
Year 7:
Aim – to add further layers of sophistication to the understanding gleaned in Y5 and 6; to prepare the boys for the rigours of Y8
(Y7 are setted into A and alpha groups for Maths and Latin)
• Allocation – both sets have four thirty-five minute periods of Latin plus one half-hour homework per week
• Primary resource – Latin Prep Books I and II (although it is proposed that the alpha set will move onto the Cambridge Latin Course after learning the future tense and third declension nouns)
• Content (7a) – third declension nouns (all genders); future and pluperfect tenses of all conjugations and sum; possum all tenses; pronouns personal and demonstrative; comparison of adjectives
• Content (7A) – will follow the same timetable as alpha set with the addition of : third declension adjectives; all tenses of eo and its compounds; third declension adjectives; irregular comparatives and superlatives; formation of adverbs; prohibitions
• Additional resources – Task Magic; CLC Books I and II E-learning resource; www.cambridgescp.com; Latin puzzles; teacher’s games and exercises; Nil Desperandum interactive Latin software
Year 8 (continues the setting initiated in Y7 above):
Aim – to prepare the boys for their entrance exams to senior school; to ensure that the boys are equipped to deal with the intellectual demands of life in their chosen senior school; to ensure that their passion for the Classics remains undimmed in later life
• Allocation - both sets have four thirty-five minute periods of Latin plus one half-hour homework per week
• Primary resource – Latin Prep Books II and III
• Content (8A) – The relative pronoun (all cases and genders); passive verbs; the subjunctive and its constructions; participles and the ablative absolute; infinitives and reported speech; deponent verbs; conditional clauses; gerunds and gerundives
• Background (8A) – Jason and the Golden Fleece; Theseus and the Minotaur; The labours of Hercules; Perseus and Medusa
• Content (8a) – third declension adjectives; comparatives and superlatives (cont); adverbs; prohibitions; the verb eo and its compounds
• Background (8a) – The Trojan War; The Wanderings of Ulysses; Slavery; The Baths; Roman Britain
• Additional Resources - Task Magic; CLC Books I and II E-learning resource; www.cambridgescp.com; Latin puzzles; teacher’s games and exercises; Nil Desperandum interactive Latin software; Latin flash-cards
GREEK
Y7: (*boys are pre-selected at the end of Y6 on their expertise in Latin and their ability to cope with the rigours of an additional language)
Aim – to introduce the boys to the rudiments of this wondrous, but challenging language
Allocation – two thirty-five minute lessons per week (the boys are sequestered from other lessons on a rotational basis to ensure fairness and minimise disruption)
Primary resource – Kristian Waite “Greek – a new guide for beginners”
Content – the alphabet, inflections and punctuation; the definite article and first and second declension nouns; first and second declension adjectives; the present, imperfect and future tenses introduction
Y8: (*Ancient Greek is an optional subject at CE and Scholarship Level. However, schools – particularly those with a proud classical tradition – smile favourably on candidates who attempt an additional, complex language)
Aim – to add layers of expertise to the knowledge garnered in Y7; to prepare each boy thoroughly for his chosen entrance exam
Allocation – one thirty-five minute lesson during during the week (the boys are again removed from lessons on a rotational basis) plus an hour after school on Mondays
Primary resource – Athenaze Book I; CE prep course designed by Andrew Reid
Content – the aorist, weak and strong; imperatives; third declension nouns; future and imperfect tenses cont; contracted verbs; personal pronouns; present participles; the middle voice