Bedford Modern School's Latin Club called 'Minimus' has been running since September 2010.  Introduced by Sixth Formers, Bethany Denley-Currie and Samantha Hopps, the idea was to introduce Latin to younger members of the School in a fun and accessible way.

The Junior Latin Club is offered as an enrichment option for Selected Year 6 pupils with around 15 pupils taking part in each academic year.  Topics are selected from the 'Minimus Starting Out In Latin' text book published by Cambridge University Press.

In the first term, 18 year old Bethany and 17 year old Samantha chose the topic of Myths and this culminated in them performing in a Junior School Assembly in the Christopher Fry Hall.

"Our Junior Latin Club meets on Fridays and it takes me about an hour a week to plan each session.  I try to research and develop a topic that will be interesting for the children and last week, for example, we looked at the Roman Army," said Bethany.

Samantha Hopps added: "Bethany and I try and ensure that each session is spontaneous in order to spark the pupils' imagination and encourage them to go away and think about the topic and really enthuse about what they have learnt."

Year 6 pupil Miriam Templeman who attends the Latin Club each week said: "I especially enjoyed the plays in our Junior School Assembly featuring 'Theseus and the Minotaur' and one of Aesop's Fables.  It was also interesting to learn numbers, gods and the symbols related to the gods.  One thing that is really special is  that we are learning things from Bethany and Samantha who are Sixth Formers still at the School.  They know what it is like to be in Year 6 and relate to us all in a comfortable way."

Jamie Elliott, another Year 6 pupil added: "I am learning new things in the Latin Club and having fun.  I have learnt Latin names for food and drink and it is quite interesting to discover the origins of everyday words that we use in our language today."

Miss Jo Newton, Head of Classics at Bedford Modern School, commented: "I am so proud of Bethany and Samantha and the initiative they have shown.  The "Minimus" club was entirely Bethany's idea, and she and Samantha have put in an enormous amount of work to ensure its success.  Anything like this awakens our students' interest in the world around them and its history should be encouraged - it is what education is all about."