Latin

What is Latin?

Latin is the study of  classical language, both prose and literature and classical civilisation, and how they have shaped and continue to influence and inspire the world in which live in.  

Why do we teach Latin at HASU?  

Latin is intended to provide a deep learning of western civilisation’s most influential language to immerse students in enduring ideas and values of the fascinating Greek and Roman worlds such as rhetoric, drama, innovation, and excellence. It is a subject that fundamentally contributes to the efforts of our Academy to support a wider social, moral, spiritual and cultural development of students as well as their linguistic and cultural competence.  

Our objective is to enable students to break the boundaries of time and space through an in-depth understanding of the Latin language principles and classical culture to level where students are able to understand Latin passages, discover the Latin etymology of English derivatives, improve their literacy skills, interpret ‘proper’ Latin literature with confidence and evaluate central aspects of the classical world such as  architecture, slavery, manumission, patronage, work, forum, theatre, gladiatorial games, baths, magic and superstition through authentic material and archaeological evidence. Students who study Latin will experience first-hand the uniqueness of exploring the wonders of the ancient world and they will both develop their critical skills and create keener attention to detail. They will also be prepared to make informed decisions about further educational opportunities in school and higher education and career choices (e.g. law, medicine, languages). At HASU, we believe that a thorough study of Latin should be a right given to every child who wish to study the subject. 

Extra-curricular activities such as competitions and trips are considered integral part of our curriculum to gain a deeper insight of the classical world and advance our students’ understanding and curiosity.  

How do we teach Latin at HASU at Key Stage 3? 

All Y8 students, after they have been introduced to a Romance language (Spanish) for a year, have Latin taster lessons that give them the opportunity to indicate their interest in studying Latin. Our objective, in Latin at KS3, is to revive the language by performing stories in Latin, reading aloud passages and using key phrases to communicate in Latin. The Latin curriculum at Harris Academy Sutton is designed to provide an enjoyable paced introduction to the Latin Language through the Cambridge Latin Course and develop a foundational knowledge of both grammar structures and central aspects of life in the Roman empire which will be learnt in depth at KS4. Online activities, e-learning resources (videos, images etc.) support even further the consolidation of grammar features and the understanding of the cultural part. The skills learnt through this programme of study will be to understand how Latin sentences are structured and to be introduced to different verb tenses and noun cases. Students will be required to translate extended passages of Latin and implement comprehension skills to understand the stories.  

How do we teach Latin at Key Stage 4? 

Students will have the option of studying Latin at GCSE as part of our broad and balanced Key Stage 4 curriculum. At Key stage 4, students will focus on three strands: 

 

• Language: translation and comprehension 

• Classical Civilisation: Roman Daily Life  

• Literature: Magic and Superstition 

 

The first two strands are taught alongside one another over the two year of the course and the third one over the last year. The first strand will be addressed through the study of vocabulary, morphology, grammar, and syntax and the last two ones through the study of a sequence of learning questions over time, and as part of this study will engage in close analysis of archaeological evidence (videos, pictures), primary and literary sources. In a Key Stage 4 Latin lesson, students gain a profound knowledge of the Latin language by practising complex grammar structures, tackling extended written questions on how social classes experience different aspects of Roman life and author’s literature style. For both last strands, students develop their debate skills and ability to construct a sustained line of reasoning which is coherent and logically built, containing relevant evidence from across the whole theme. 

 

What exam board do we study at Key Stage 4? 

Students studying Latin follow the WEJC Eduqas GCSE Latin Specification. 

This specification can be found here.  

How do we assess in Latin? 

Students are assessed regularly within lessons through interactive and independent activities such as retrieval tasks, vocabulary tests, multiple choice tasks, short answer questions and lengthier ones that enable teacher identify and address misconceptions. These are often self, or peer reviewed so that students are able to reflect on their learning and improve. A continuous assessment throughout the lessons prepares students to complete their ‘learning snapshots’ that take place every half-term so that students know their strengths and what they should work more on to make progress. Students are also assessed formally in all 5 skills in a Mid- and End-of-Year assessment. 

At Key stage 4, we assess students’ understanding through a range of formative strategies that consolidate learning alongside regular opportunities to tackle examination style questions that resemble the kinds of questions students are to answer in their Latin GCSE. 

How do we use homework in Latin? 

A range of activities is set for students to consolidate classroom learning, revise core knowledge and practise comprehension, translation skills and extended written questions as well. Students complete multiple-choice grammar and vocabulary tasks that support them to complete more challenging tasks such as comprehension and translation of an unseen passage. Homework also involves short quizzes that encourage them to recall key information about classical civilisation and prepares them to collect evidence for the synthesis of their extended written questions.  

At Key Stage 4 students focus on essays about several literature themes and engage with exam style questions of all the three Latin exams such as translation, comprehension tasks as well as short and long answer questions about pictures, sources, classical civilisation and literature topics.