Students Ace latin Course

A group of Blackpool Sixth students has been learning the language of Julius Caesar, Virgil and the Vatican. They successfully completed an online course in Latin which has encouraged them to go further with their learning of ancient languages.

The six week course was a pilot venture organised by Classics for All, who promote public understanding of the culture, history and languages of the ancient world. The students who completed the course are Julia Baszak, Isabella Beaton, Ilo Hogan, Katie House, Ellie Jordan and Millie Waters. In addition, three students, Isabella Beaton, Julia Baszak and Nat Welch, received certificates for the completion of a Classical Greek course.  They received their certificates from the Blackpool Sixth Principal, Nicola Craven.

Peter Wright, ancient history teacher, Excellence Programme Coordinator and Blackpool Classics for All Coordinator, commented, “This has been a wonderful opportunity for these students to gain a taste of the amazing world of the Latin language. The language has had such an incredible impact over such a long period of time. Research clearly shows that studying Latin can significantly develop English academic vocabulary and grammatical understanding - and we’re starting to see that in the classrooms of the local schools involved in this project.”

Alice Case, North West Network Coordinator for Classics for All said, “We were really pleased with the course and the students were highly engaged and made great progress.  So far the feedback indicates that around 80% of students who attended felt even this short taster would make them more likely to try a language at university, which is great.”

Isabella, who completed both of the ancient language courses commented, “I absolutely loved the Latin and Greek courses! They were extremely interesting and were delivered in a way which was entertaining; every week I would be shocked at how quickly the lessons flew by! I think this has inspired me to continue studying ancient languages in university if provided the opportunity.

The students are all very enthusiastic about continuing with their extra-curricular exploration of ancient languages. Peter Wright will be offering further Latin classes and there will also be an opportunity in the coming weeks for studying ancient Greek and Egyptian hieroglyphics.