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Classical reading success
Perse students enjoyed plenty of success in the Cambridge Classical Association’s Classical Reading competitions this year.
Jem Bennett and Lucy Blanning (both Lower Sixth) were first and second respectively in the senior Latin prose category, in which George Richards (Lower Sixth) also took part. Jem also took part in the Latin verse competition along with Lucy St Clair Holborn (Lower Sixth).
Hilary Hawthorne (Lower Sixth) won the senior Greek verse category, while Neelkantha Mukherjee (Year 10) and Carole Tucker (Year 11) were first and second respectively in the intermediate competition. Carole came out on top in the intermediate Latin verse category with Tansy Xue (Year 11) runner-up and Yolanda Xue (Year 11) also putting in a strong performance. Carole also represented the school in the intermediate Latin prose section with Sudevi Hoare (Year 11).
Meanwhile, Carla Campos Zanotti Gerosa (Year 9, pictured) was victorious in the junior Greek prose category after impressing judges with her excellent reading in front of a packed lecture room at the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Classics.
Carla had stiff competition from fellow Perse pupils Maia Polonius, Milo Khong and Djia Sanath-Vijay (all Year 9), who all performed admirably in the Greek section.
The Perse was also represented extremely well by Year 8 pupils Enrica Russo, Arya Lloyd, Pavel Lomonosov and Timofei Lomonosov.
Enrica and Arya did themselves proud in the junior Latin prose category and they were joined by Pavel and Timofei in giving a convincing and dramatic performance in the Latin play reading category.
Perse Head of Classics Seb Foster said: “The competition has been held remotely over the past two years, so it was brilliant to be able to compete in person again.
“All of our pupils did superbly well and should be very proud of themselves. I think they learned a huge amount from the experience.”
The competition has been held remotely over the past two years, so it was brilliant to be able to compete in person again.
Dramatic scenes as Latin play competition returns
Ludi Scaenici returned for the first time since 2019 as young actors took to the stage in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre for the Latin play competition.
A cast of Perse pupils were joined by counterparts from St John’s College School, St Mary’s School and Norwich High School to perform original Latin scripts written from scratch by staff or students.
The performances were judged by Dr Rosanna Omitowoju from the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Classics, Stephen Kern, former Perse teacher and local Classical Association secretary, and Katharine Russell, Head of Classics at Chesterton Community College.
The Perse play, written by a group of Lower Sixth students, was praised by the judges for its inventiveness, the convincing dinner party setting that was created and some strong individual performances. The Roman cats in particular were commended for their comic timing.
Pupils involved in the Perse performance included Amelie Brown, Sophie De Young, Amatullah Mumisa, Enrica Russo, Leena Shaukat, Hanrong Zeng, Hanyu Zeng, Emily Cheng (all Year 8), Hetty Baldwin, Paloma Bargh, Yinghao Chen, Isla Cochrane, Catherine Follows, Jahnavi Manya, Zara Osei (all Year 9), Jem Bennett, Eos Liao, Tengyu Zhao, Yunlin Chen and Benjamin Sharpstone (all Lower Sixth).
Great Roman Bake Off
Edward Samson (Year 7) had the recipe for success after winning the ‘best video’ prize in the Great Roman Bake Off competition.
Pupils were challenged to cook a Roman dish and create a two-minute video of how to make it in the competition organised by the University of Cambridge.
Edward won his award for his demonstration of making patina, a Roman nut tart, while Jahnavi Manya, Isla Cochrane, Hetty Baldwin, Paloma Bargh (all Year 9) and Enrica Russo (Year 8) also enjoyed taking part.
