Latin

Overview

Mr A.K.J. Carroll - Head of Classics

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 also offer the enormously popular Classical Civilisation A-Level in the Sixth Form.

At GCSE we are following the Eduqas syllabus (first teaching 2023)

Component 2 (until 2026):-

Theme A – Romans in the Countryside

Component 3A :-

Prose – Suetonius, Nero (2025)

Verse - Virgil, Hercules and Cacus (2026-2027)

At A-Level, the current prescribed texts are:-

2023-2026

Prose – Tacitus, Annals XII. 25-26; 41-43; 52-53; 56-59; 64-69 (Latin); XIII. 1-5; 10-18; 45-46 (English); XIV. 1-13 (Latin).

Verse – Juvenal Satire VI. 1-113, 242-305, 352-365, 398-412; XIV. 1-33; 74-232; XV. 27-92; III, XIV and XV (English).

2025-2028

Prose - 
Nepos, Life of Hannibal, 1–13
Tacitus, Annals XIV, 29–37 and 59– 65 
English: Tacitus, Annals XIV, 14–15, 20–21, 38–39, 51–57

OR

Apuleius, Metamorphoses, Book VI, 7–21 
English: Apuleius, Metamorphoses Book V, 28–31 and Book VI 1–6 and 21 (rest of)–24

Verse - 
Virgil, Aeneid Book 4, lines 1–128, 259–396, 416–503, 529–629
English: Virgil, Aeneid 1 lines 613–722 and rest of Book 4

Latin Curriculum Summaries

Assessment Process

Assessment and Feedback Process - Years 7 - 13

Wider reading suggestions for our Classics Students

KS3 Classics Reading Suggestions

KS3, KS4, KS5 Classics Reading Suggestions