Why Classics?

The term ‘Classics’ refers to the study of the languages, literatures, material culture, and history of the ancient world, and their influence on later periods and cultures right up to the present day. 

It is one of the most varied and interdisciplinary subjects and can include the study of literature, history, philosophy, art and archaeology.

For generations a classical education was considered a privilege for the few, not the many. However today its revival in primary and secondary state schools is well underway.

There is increasing evidence that the study of classical subjects helps to:

• Raise pupils’ aspirations and achievement. Widening access to classical subjects can help to break the link between educational opportunity and disadvantage, giving pupils the confidence to progress to higher education.
• Develop cultural literacy: Ideas, stories and mythology from the ancient world continue to influence modern art and literature. Classical ideas are constantly being reworked in theatre, film, works of fiction and more. An awareness of these links can offer pupils a new perspective on the world around them. 
• Encourage cultural insight: By reading original texts and studying material culture, students can gain an insight into people of the ancient world. There is much in the ancient world that speaks to contemporary issues around sex and gender, race, class, social mobility etc. 

• Support English literacy: The rigorous approach to word-level and sentence-level linguistic competency of these ancient languages can build a strong foundation for literacy across the curriculum.
• Enrich pupils’ vocabulary: It’s estimated that more than 65% of English words have Greek or Latin roots. Knowing the meaning of these root words helps to anchor knowledge of spelling and meaning in a wider linguistic context and can help pupils determine the meaning of words they may not recognise in English.
• Complement modern foreign language learning: Through learning Latin or Ancient Greek, pupils understand grammatical structures and can recognise linguistic patterns repeated across several languages. A linguistic foundation in ancient languages can help pupils become more self-aware and builds confidence.