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 one part-time and three full-time specialist teachers, who are graduates of the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, St Andrew’s and Exeter.

A set of departmental chrome books 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

• 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.
• Outside speakers are invited two or three times a year to talk on a range of topics.
• The department has created its own series of digital revision tools.