• Instagram
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Brothers of the Sacred Heart
  • Work With Us
  • Parent Links
      • Edulink
      • School Gateway
      • Transport & Travel
      • St Columba’s Parents’ Association
      • School Uniform
      • Catering
      • Public Examination Information
      • Parent Guides
      • Sports & Fixtures
  • Admissions Process
  • Contact Us
St Columba's Independent Co-Educational Catholic Day School
  • Welcome
  • About Us
    • Brothers of the Sacred Heart
    • History of St Columba’s College
    • Co-Education
    • Inspection Reports
    • Examination Results
    • Policies
    • Governors and College Leadership
    • 2024 Prospectus
  • School Life
      • Term Dates
      • Academic Excellence
      • Curriculum Subjects
      • Stretch & Challenge
      • Digital Learning
      • Academic Support
      • Pastoral Care & Wellbeing
      • Columban Community Care
      • Our House System
      • Extended Curriculum & SHAPE
      • Clubs & Activities
      • Student Leadership
      • Catholic Social Teaching
      • Chaplaincy
      • Trips & Visits
      • Charity & Service
      • Catering
      • School Uniform
      • Sports at St Columba’s
      • St Columba’s Shop
      • Report a Safeguarding Concern
  • Admissions
      • Admissions Process
      • Prep Admissions Dates
      • Senior Admissions Dates
      • Sixth Form Admissions Dates
      • Visit Us
      • Travelling to St Columba’s College
      • Fees, Bursaries & Scholarships
      • Academic Support (SEND)
      • Virtual Visit Hub
      • The Good Schools Guide
      • Parent Contract
      • FAQS
  • Prep
    • Welcome from the Head of Prep
    • Meet the Staff
    • Prep Curriculum Overview
    • Prep Subjects
    • Pre-Senior Baccalaureate (PSB)
    • Wrap Around Care
    • Moving to the Senior School
    • Catholic Social Teaching in Prep
  • Senior
    • Welcome from the Headmaster
    • Meet The Staff
    • Senior Curriculum Overview
    • Senior Subjects
    • Public Examination Information
  • Sixth Form
    • Welcome to the Sixth Form
    • Meet The Staff
    • Sixth Form Curriculum Overview
    • Sixth Form Subjects
    • Careers & Higher Education
  • St Columba’s Connects
    • Alumni
    • St Columbas Parents’ Association
  • What’s On
    • Calendar
    • Holiday Clubs
    • News
    • Social Wall
    • Sports & Fixtures
  • Brothers of the Sacred Heart
  • Parent Links
    • EduLink
    • School Gateway
    • Transport & Travel
    • Sports & Fixtures
    • School Uniform
    • Catering
    • Public Examination Information
    • Parent Guides
  • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Menu Menu

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.

Prep

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.

Senior

Latin & Classics: Senior

Latin & Classics are taught throughout Prep to Sixth Form

F1-2: The Cambridge Latin Course

F3: Latin To GCSE Part 1

F4-5: OCR GCSE Latin

F6: OCR A Level Latin

Curriculum Overview

At GCSE we follow the GCSE syllabus with Translation and Literature papers

At A Level there are Translation modules and Literature modules as with 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?

GCSE – we do Practice GCSE Assessments under exam conditions throughout the course, plus mock exams

A Level – similarly to GCSE

Home Learning

At GCSE/ A Level the students complete what tasks we expect of them as necessary

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.

Sixth Form

Latin: Sixth Form

Why choose Latin?

Latin A Level is very highly respected by universities and employers, and with good reason. Successful Latin students have to have powerful skills of grammatical analysis. But they also need to have a strong awareness of narrative structures and politico-historical contexts. Added to this, they should have a good grounding in Philosophy and be intelligent critics of art. And really that’s just the start.

What will you learn?

We read the literature written by the Romans – this includes the wonderful mythology of Virgil and Ovid, the dazzling rhetoric of Cicero, the fascinating history of Tacitus. Smaller class sizes and more lesson time allows us to discuss in depth the philosophical and psychological issues raised by Ovid’s investigations into heroes and heroines, for example. The language skills that you have built up during GCSE go up several gears. The level of linguistic awareness, and the sophistication of the grammatical dialogues we have, is very high indeed. And the skill is transferable – it’s not just Latin structures you end up understanding, but the structure of all languages, indeed the structure of Language itself. It is the number one skill of them all – there is no more important skill you can have. This is set against the background of the expansion and workings of a proper landmark in human history – The Roman Empire. And so, the talk turns to archaeology, inscriptions, numismatics (coins), funerary beliefs, engineering, warfare, battle strategy, and conquest. We even had a lesson this year on ancient shipwrecks and sunken cargoes. So, the question is not so much ‘What will you learn?’ It’s probably easier to list the things you won’t learn.

I now have a much deeper understanding of the way every language works, as well as a unique insight into the thoughts of this ancient civilisation.
Gus, Latin student

Student view

To me, the study of the Classical World is the most exciting and intriguing prospect possible. The discussions we have had in the Latin Room have been some of the most fascinating and enjoyable of my life, and my grammatical skills have developed to a level I did not think possible. I now have a much deeper understanding of the way every language works, as well as a unique insight into the thoughts of this ancient civilisation.

Gus, Latin student

Entry Requirement

Grade 7, 8 or 9 in the Higher-Level GCSE paper.

GCE Advanced Latin Examination Board
OCR Latin H443

Curriculum Subjects

  • Art & Design
  • Art, Design & Technology
  • Biology
  • Business & Economics
  • Chemistry
  • Computer Science
  • Design Technology
  • Drama
  • English
  • Financial Education
  • Future Prep
  • Geography
  • History
  • Latin & Classics
  • Library
  • Mathematics
  • Modern Foreign Languages
  • Music
  • Physical Education
  • Physics
  • Politics
  • PSHE
  • Psychology
  • Religious Education
  • Science
  • Social Studies
  • Sociology

Key Links

  • Admissions
  • Calendar
  • Term Dates
  • News
  • Work With Us
  • Sports

Contact Us

St Columba’s College,
Registered Address:
8-10 King Harry Lane,
St Albans,
Hertfordshire,
AL3 4AW

Transport & Directions

Tel: 01727 855185

Latest News

Mr Finn takes on running Hadrian’s Wall for a very special charity!

March 26, 2025/0 Comments/in News
Read more
https://stcolumbascollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/hadrians-wall.jpg 300 400 Mark Pedrasa https://stcolumbascollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/st-columbas-web-logo.png Mark Pedrasa2025-03-26 14:50:542025-03-27 14:22:15Mr Finn takes on running Hadrian’s Wall for a very special charity!

Our Commitment to our Young People is Deemed Outstanding

March 5, 2025/0 Comments/in News
Read more
https://stcolumbascollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/CSI.jpg 768 1024 Steve Telford https://stcolumbascollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/st-columbas-web-logo.png Steve Telford2025-03-05 15:16:012025-03-05 16:19:36Our Commitment to our Young People is Deemed Outstanding

Columban Fayre raises an incredible £29,000

January 13, 2025/0 Comments/in News
Read more
https://stcolumbascollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_2423.jpg 683 1024 Mark Pedrasa https://stcolumbascollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/st-columbas-web-logo.png Mark Pedrasa2025-01-13 16:21:462025-01-13 16:21:46Columban Fayre raises an incredible £29,000

St Columba’s College Featured in Muddy Stilettos

December 9, 2024/0 Comments/in News
Read more
https://stcolumbascollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/ASC_3490.jpg 682 1024 Mark Pedrasa https://stcolumbascollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/st-columbas-web-logo.png Mark Pedrasa2024-12-09 10:16:192024-12-09 10:26:44St Columba’s College Featured in Muddy Stilettos
©St Columba’s College 2023 | Terms & Privacy | Brand Guidelines | Registered Charity No. 1088480 | Proudly built by Lemongrass Media School Website Design Services
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
Scroll to top
  • Welcome
  • About Us
    • Brothers of the Sacred Heart
    • History of St Columba’s College
    • Co-Education
    • Inspection Reports
    • Examination Results
    • Policies
    • Governors and College Leadership
    • 2024 Prospectus
    • Back
  • School Life
    • Term Dates
    • Academic Excellence
    • Curriculum Subjects
    • Stretch & Challenge
    • Digital Learning
    • Academic Support
    • Pastoral Care & Wellbeing
    • Columban Community Care
    • Our House System
    • Extended Curriculum & SHAPE
    • Clubs & Activities
    • Student Leadership
    • Catholic Social Teaching
    • Chaplaincy
    • Trips & Visits
    • Charity & Service
    • Catering
    • School Uniform
    • Sports at St Columba’s
    • St Columba’s Shop
    • Report a Safeguarding Concern
    • Back
  • Admissions
    • Admissions Process
    • Prep Admissions Dates
    • Senior Admissions Dates
    • Sixth Form Admissions Dates
    • Visit Us
    • Travelling to St Columba’s College
    • Fees, Bursaries & Scholarships
    • Academic Support (SEND)
    • Virtual Visit Hub
    • The Good Schools Guide
    • Parent Contract
    • FAQS
    • Back
  • Prep
    • Welcome from the Head of Prep
    • Meet the Staff
    • Prep Curriculum Overview
    • Prep Subjects
    • Pre-Senior Baccalaureate (PSB)
    • Wrap Around Care
    • Moving to the Senior School
    • Catholic Social Teaching in Prep
    • Back
  • Senior
    • Welcome from the Headmaster
    • Meet The Staff
    • Senior Curriculum Overview
    • Senior Subjects
    • Public Examination Information
    • Back
  • Sixth Form
    • Welcome to the Sixth Form
    • Meet The Staff
    • Sixth Form Curriculum Overview
    • Sixth Form Subjects
    • Careers & Higher Education
    • Back
  • St Columba’s Connects
    • Alumni
    • St Columbas Parents’ Association
    • Back
  • What’s On
    • Calendar
    • Holiday Clubs
    • News
    • Social Wall
    • Sports & Fixtures
    • Back
  • Brothers of the Sacred Heart
  • Parent Links
    • EduLink
    • School Gateway
    • Transport & Travel
    • Sports & Fixtures
    • School Uniform
    • Catering
    • Public Examination Information
    • Parent Guides
    • Back
  • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Search
    • Back
Book a private tour and sign up to our upcoming events…Register Here
+