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ACADEMIC MATTERS
Classics
It has been a wonderful year for Classics at KGS. It must have felt quite overwhelming for students to go from remote learning to a fully-fledged school year with the co-curricular demands that come with it but I have been as impressed as ever with how the year groups have managed their time so effectively. We were pleased to welcome Victoria Paterson to the Department and thank her for guiding an eager Sixth Form club towards impressive achievements in the UK Linguistics Olympiad. We have also been very fortunate to retain assistance from Brenda McDonald, whose expertise has been a wonderful help to our students of Greek.
This summer we say valete to some fantastic classicists. It has been an absolute pleasure to teach Freddie Pflanz: his insight and dry wit have made Classical Greek lessons feel more like tutorials which I hope stands him in good stead for his study of PPE at Oxford. Surely Herodotus’ portrayal of Xerxes’ and Artabanus’ philosophical discourse had an influence on his decision. The Latin class of Douggie Bradley, Sophie Farrell and Matt Mace has also been tremendous fun for the staff.
As well as bringing new meaning to the ‘timeless’ nature of Taylor’s oeuvre, it is further proof of the continued interest in and interpretations of classical languages and literature.
Their enthusiasm for analysing the style of Cicero and Virgil has ensured that time spent with them has been a joy, and Cicero has given them several phrases to avoid when making new friends at York, Oxford and Manchester next year! We also wish Tomas Caldon and Gwen Richford well at Warwick and Roehampton respectively and thank them for buying into their Ancient History and Civilisation course with
KINGSTONIAN 2021/22
such gusto. Congratulations, too, to the Latin and Greek students who (at the time of writing) have just completed their GCSE exams. They have coped with the demands superbly. Mr Grant, knowing how big a Taylor Swift fan I am, recently sent me a video of Love Story with Latin and Greek subtitles. As well as bringing new meaning to the ‘timeless’ nature of Taylor’s oeuvre, it is further proof of the continued interest in and interpretations of classical languages and literature. At KGS we need look no further than First Year students enthusiastically linking new vocabulary to languages spoken at home, and perceptive Second Year project videos based on the destruction of Pompeii or Greek myths. Indeed, the students’ innovative approach to these myths, using modern approaches to tell the ancient stories, lays bare the enduring essence of the characters, their relationships and their challenges. I am delighted that all students at KGS have had the opportunity to explore this link between the ancient and modern but even more pleasing, with over half the Second Year opting for Latin, is the number of them who want to read these stories in the original languages. On a personal note, I am leaving KGS after five years of learning from such generously supportive colleagues in Emma Pytel, Brenda McDonald, Laura Snook and Victoria Paterson. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with the fabulous students here and wish them all a happy future. Mr M Cooney, Head of Classics
