Latin

OPTIONS - TWO

Latin’s great breadth and diversity invariably captivate students’ interest and imagination through its rich cultural heritage and fascinating history, its elegant language and stimulating literature.

COURSE AIMS AND BENEFITS

The course aims to develop a greater understanding of the Roman world and its influence on modern society. An increased knowledge of the Latin language can provide an awareness of the many links with modern European languages, including French and Spanish. The logical structure of Latin will help you develop an analytical approach to other languages and will heighten your understanding of English. It is possible to study Latin alongside another European language at GCSE. One of the main aims of studying Latin GCSE is to gain access to the wealth of famous literature from the classical world and develop an appreciation for Latin literature in its cultural context. To that end, the Department runs a variety of trips, which may include visiting Oxford or the British Museum. As well as being exciting and inspiring, this course helps you develop an intellectual flexibility, which will be useful in further study and subsequently a wide range of careers.

COURSE CONTENT

The GCSE course is taught using Taylor’s Latin to GCSE, Part 2 (supplemented by Essential GCSE Latin and OCR past papers). Two prescribed texts are studied, one prose and one verse. The prose text for examination in 2025 will consist of short extracts from both Tacitus’ Annals and Pliny the Elder’s letters, with description ranging from scandal and corruption among two imperial families to the daily life and routine of Pliny, who was subservient to his own literary activity. The verse set text will be an extract from Book 1 of Virgil’s great epic, the Aeneid, describing the anger Juno felt for the Trojans and the subsequent troubles she afflicts on them whilst they make their journey from Troy.

ASSESSMENT At the end of Year 11 students take three examinations: Language 1 hour 30 minutes; 50% of marks Prose Literature 1 hour; 25% of marks Verse Literature 1 hour; 25% of marks

The course caters for a wide variety of interests: literary and linguistic, as well as cultural and historical, making it an excellent complement to many other subjects. We stretch students well beyond what is required for GCSE, getting them to translate English into Latin and exposing them to many sophisticated literary analytical techniques usually only taught at A level. Latin is very highly regarded by universities and employers alike whatever discipline or career you intend to pursue.