Classical Civilisation

Departmental Aims

Our aim is to foster an awareness of the ancient Greek and Roman world, and to stimulate an interest in as many aspects of it as possible, including its political and social history, literature and art. We hope that the study of ancient civilisations will give our students a greater understanding of how our world has developed and will challenge them to think more critically about the society they live in today.

Facilities

We have three full-time and one part-time specialist teachers, who are graduates of the universities of St Andrews, Exeter, Nottingham and Cambridge. A set of departmental Chromebooks enables students to access a vast range of relevant online resources.

GCSE Curriculum

We follow the OCR specification, choosing the following two units:

• Myth and Religion: students learn about the gods of Greece and Rome, the story of Hercules, beliefs about the underworld, temples and festivals, and myths relating to the founding of Athens and Rome
• The Homeric World: students read a selection of stories from Homer’s Odyssey, and also learn about the lives of real people in the time in which the Odyssey was set, focusing on archaeological discoveries at the sites of Troy, Mycenae and Tiryns.

Co-curricular, Enrichment, Extension and Support

Year 10 students make an annual trip to the British Museum in London to see first-hand some of the artefacts they have studied during the course, such as the Parthenon Frieze and the Theseus kylix. Outside speakers are invited two or three times a year to talk on a range of topics. The department has also created their own series of digital revision tools and study guides.