Classical Civilisation

Overview

Head of Classics - Mr A.K.J. Carroll 

We are a Classics Department here at St. Olave’s Grammar School in the sense that all members of the department teach Latin, Greek and Classical Civilisation; subjects whose relevance to contemporary Europe are as strong today as when they were made central to the school’s curriculum at its Elizabethan foundation in 1571. This is due to their influence upon modern European languages and global culture. 

Consequently, all pupils at some stage in their careers at this school can come into contact and learn in depth aspects of the Greek, Roman and Near Eastern worlds and their relevance to today’s languages and culture. Yearly there are strong numbers of boys sitting GCSE Latin and many of these continue into the Sixth Form where they are joined by students who have entered the School in Year Twelve.

We offer Greek GCSE and A-Level to pupils with a very strong linguistic inclination, especially those whose aim is to read Classics at university.

The Department has an active Classics Society which meets weekly; it is run by Sixth Formers who give the talks and invite university experts to speak. A Classics Lecture Day takes place annually. This and many other memorable activities, such as visits to the National Gallery, Lullingstone Villa, Bignor Villa, Hadrian’s Wall, Paris (with the French Department) and the Bay of Naples (with the Geography Department), work towards the creation of what is a thriving subject in this school.

We offer the enormously popular Classical Civilisation A-Level in the Sixth Form where the pupils come to grips with Greek and Roman epic, the Greek comedies of Aristophanes, Athenian Tragedy and the development of Athenian Democracy. Trips to Greece and the Bay of Naples have taken place in past years. Without fail annually, we see pupils leaving the school to study Classics at the best universities in the country. 

In Classical Civilisation, through the media of art, architecture and literature, we ask ourselves how we define ourselves and come to realise how fragile and limited our social order and identity are. Through the study of history, theatre and epic, all enshrined in the civic spaces of the Ancient World and its buildings, especially in Fifth Century Athens and Attica, we come to appreciate a very earnest message that all of us and especially the governments that rule, will need a sort of knowledge that goes beyond the mechanics and technologies of power and that knowledge is linked entirely to the discovery of the self. At its core is the question, ‘how can I compromise the demands of what I and my family want with what the community wants? Can I compromise and bend?’

The pupils at this school embrace the subject with genuine enthusiasm. It is brought to life by effective and stimulating teaching and the pupils thoroughly enjoy grappling with something which is intrinsically difficult, both linguistically and conceptually.

Classical Civilisation is approached from the texts in English verse and prose translation. Additionally notes with photographs on Greek vases are written and supplied by the Department. The breadth and depth of the course is highly attractive to anyone who has an interest in language, literature, history, philosophy and art. This course can be started from scratch in the Sixth Form and requires no formal training in Greek or Latin.

Classical Civilisation Curriculum Summaries

Assessment Process

Assessment and Feedback Process - KS5

Wider reading suggestions for our Classics Students

KS4, KS5 Classics Reading Suggestions