Inner-City Latin

This year, we were delighted to be back in classrooms full time. There was, of course, much work to be done, with many pupils having experienced major disruption to their teaching time over 2020-21. With that being said, we were incredibly proud of all of our pupils—and their schools—for maintaining as much consistency as they could under very difficult circumstances. Many of our pupils had been using our free worksheets and home-packs to supplement their learning over the course of the pandemic, and it was brilliant to have the opportunity to pick up where we left off and get the ball rolling once again.

CASE STUDIES 2021-22

St Barnabas' Primary, Westminster

The Latin Programme has been embedded in the St Barnabas' curriculum since 2014. In the academic year 2021-2022, we taught across four Key Stage 2 classes from Years 3-6. At St Barnabas', where the majority of pupils are eligible for Free School Meals and speak English as an additional language, 54% of pupils achieved 65% or above in the end of year Latin tests even after two turbulent pandemic years.

St Mary's Primary, Brent 

We have taught The Latin Programme at St Mary's Primary since 2014. In the academic year 2021-2022, we taught across five classes from Year 3 to Year 6. At St Mary's, where the majority of pupils are eligible for Free School Meals and speak English as an additional language, 63% of pupils achieved 60% or above in the end of year tests.

A TOPIC-BASED APPROACH

The academic year 2021-22 has seen The Latin Programme implement a revised curriculum that organises our teaching of Latin language and English literacy around a series of engaging, world-expanding topics. We have worked hard to make sure that we not only retain all of the vocabulary, syntax and grammar work that make our Latin lessons a smart choice for Foreign Language Provision, but also to bake into our curriculum an even more compelling answer to the question 'why do we learn Latin?' We have found, over the course of the year, that our pupils have responded energetically to our sessions on rhetoric, horticulture, medicine and the body, Romans in Britain, Roman food, and lots more besides.

SUMMER SCHOOL 

For the third year in a row, we headed online to host our Latin Programme Summer School. And what a week it was! From 2nd-5th August, we delivered a daily YouTube Live session available to all, followed by two 50-minute Zoom sessions for 120 subscribed participants.

With the help of expert facilitators including children’s author Caroline Lawrence, dancer Tommaso Petrolo, storytellers Alys Torrance and Lucy Lill, and Vicky Price of UCL Special Collections to name but a few, we explored Roman hair and wig-making, the ancient seas and oceans, weaving and its importance in ancient myth, Roman catacombs, the architecture of Piranesi and so much more. For the first time, we also provided our pupils with a Summer School online portal accessible anytime after their daily sessions, and through which they could find extension task videos and worksheets made by our facilitators and Latin Programme staff.