Latin & Classics
The St Columba’s Latin Department is a living, breathing part of Roman history.
When a recent American visitor to the SCC Latin Department was asked ‘On a scale of 1 to 10, how fortunate do you think our students are to have Ancient Rome in evidence all around them?’ he answered ‘Eleven.’
We are located on the actual site of ancient Roman Verulamium, and we are lucky enough to have a world-renowned archaeological treasure on our doorstep. We have our own little museum in the Latin Room, filled with genuine Roman artefacts which were excavated when the College buildings were established.
Our most enthusiastic and able students also study Ancient Greek, while the learning about Caecilius culminates in a biennial trip to Pompeii and Mount Vesuvius. We also run EECA trips in Form 1 to Fishbourne Palace and in Form 5 to the British Museum
We regularly enter essay competitions, and recently a student was awarded a prize by the University of Cambridge for a brilliant original submission.
Latin & Classics: Prep
Latin & Classics are taught throughout Prep to Sixth Form
Prep 5-6: Introduction to Latin Language & Roman History
Curriculum Overview
Our KS3 programme is based on Pompeii, and teaches the students various aspects of Roman Life while giving them the skills necessary for GCSE
What are the unique selling points of this subject at St Columba’s College?
- We study Roman History and we are based in a Roman town (Verulamium) so we have the History literally on our doorstep.
- Both members of Department are Cambridge educated
- We take the students to Roman sites in Britain and Italy for their enrichment
- We have a very successful extra-curricular Oxbridge Program which has been running for years now – in the last few years, 3 out of 3 Classics applicants have been awarded places at Oxford & Cambridge
- Greek Mythology Club is an extra-curricular club which has been very well attended this year
How are the students assessed?
KS3 – we have internal written grammar assessments and End of Year exams
Home Learning
At KS3 students do one written or learning homework per week
How can parents/guardians support their child’s learning?
Parents can monitor the homework tasks on Teams and remind their children to do their best in every homework/ assessment
Useful Links
The Cambridge Latin Course online webbook can be found here. This is not just useful for F1/F2, it is essential.
