Classical Greek

OCR

Winston Churchill wrote that pupils should learn ‘Latin as a privilege and Greek as a treat’. Greek A Level is certainly a treat! By the end of Year 13 you will be able to read Plato in the original as well as having had the powerful experience of reading Greek tragedy and seeing it in performance. Students of Greek are an academic elite and an A Level in this subject is extremely highly regarded by universities. We organise trips to see the annual King’s College performances of Greek tragedy, performed (with subtitles) in the original Greek, or other performances in translation. We also recommend the summer schools provided by London University and the famous Greek Summer School at Bryanston.

Requirements: 7 in Classical Greek and in English Language or English Literature at GCSE

Unit 1 Unseen Translation (H444/01) Written exam 1 hour 45 minutes (33% of total marks)

Unit 2 Prose Composition or Comprehension (H444/02) Written exam 1 hour 15 minutes (17% of total marks)

Unit 3 Prose Literature (H444/03) Written exam 2 hours (25% of total marks)

Unit 4 Verse Literature (H444/04) Written exam 2 hours (25% of total marks) By the end of Year 12, students learn all the remaining grammar and syntax in Greek By the end of Year 13, students will be able to tackle unadapted Greek verse and prose As part of the language course we will study writing by a range of Greek authors

All students will be taught prose composition as this is also excellent training for the linguistic questions in the comprehension alternative In Year 13 students can decide which option to take in the final exam

There is a choice of two set authors – a historian (Thucydides/Herodotus) or Plato. We will study one of these in Year 12 and either continue to study more of that author in Year 13 or switch to the other, depending on students’ preferences In addition to questions on literary style there will be an essay question on the text studied in Year 13, enabling students to explore wider themes

In Year 12, students read part of one of the books of the Iliad or Odyssey In Year 13, students will either continue with Homer or study Greek tragedy. In both cases we also study the rest of the book or play in translation As with the prose paper, there will be stylistic analysis questions on all the texts and a wider ranging essay question on the author studied in Year 13

We learn a huge amount about philosophy and Greek society as well as the language. It is also beneficial for understanding the English language. Grace